Transformers: Good Mourning
by He's Dangerous
Summary: This is the fanfic in which the Transformers will all die.
1. Good Mourning Part 1

**Note: **This fan-fic will be done in an episodic way (like any of the animated series) and I will try to keep every chapter beneath 6,000 words. If season 1 (it will be 20 episodes) is a hit, then I will make more.

For now, please read & review! Thank you for your time.

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you see it?"<em>

"_Yes… how strange."_

"_It's pathetic."_

"_Well, they are only insects… and barely sentient ones at that. So let them pray to a statue on a hill."_

"_They call it the City of God."_

"_Then we'll have to introduce them to the real deities."_

* * *

><p><span>Episode 1: Good Mourning (Part 1)<span>

_Hey, I don't feel so good…  
>Something's not right…<br>Something's coming over me…  
>What the fuck is this?<em>

—**Good Mourning**

* * *

><p>A foul stench.<p>

It travelled down the tunnels of decay.

Reeking of human waste and garbage, the sewers looked almost as bad as they smelled. Pieces of broken plastic and rotten food lined the walkable sides of the disgusting rivers. Human waste covered most of the walls, from the previous flood, while rats scurried down the aisles and waded through the sewage, searching for diseased scraps to eat. The miasma of decay would turn the nose of any self-respecting person, but not for three people there.

One was a tramp, lying on the ground, covered in rags. He was most assuredly dead.

The other two were children, who ran down the sides of the sewers at breakneck pace, with only their knowledge of the sewers keeping them from sliding into the disgusting muck and a short existence. They slided when needed and leaped from walkway to walkway, indifferent to the smell or the danger if they should fall in. They had been doing this for years. They were the professional champions of sewer-tag.

The boy ran past the tramp, ignoring the corpse, knowing that staring too long would just invite gloom and the loss of the game. His blonde hair was almost black from the dirt and grime he'd been rolling in, while his clothes (more akin to rags) were stained and torn; he looked like he hadn't had a bath in years. His shoes were worn down to the soles, he only wore one sock, and his jeans had been cut off from the knees down. He wore a bag clipped to his waist, the only thing that was relatively clean.

He ran on.

The girl ran past the tramp, not even noticing it in her hurry to win. Her shirt was as dirty as her face, mud that she wiped from her eyes and mouth, needing both in order to navigate the underground. Her dark hair had been tied up by rubber bands while her sneakers remained unlaced and her white socks barely visible thanks to the faeces that stained them. Like the boy, she also carried a relatively clean waist-bag.

They shot down the sewer tunnels, both breathless, both excited, only a minute left. They tore down a maintenance corridor, sliding down some drainage into a shallow gulley, leaping precariously over drains. Eventually, thanks to a daring leap forward, the girl managed to grab hold of the boy's leg, bringing him to the ground of the walkway.

"Shit," he muttered, staring at the ground.

The girl looked at a dirt-encrusted watch on her wrist, wiping the screen clear.

"17 seconds left," she said smugly, "That a new record Marcus?"

The boy groaned and sat up, leaning against a dirty wall. "Maybe. It doesn't matter anyway."

"You're right. Where's my book?"

"It's ours," Marcus stood up, swatting away a fly from his face, "And I forgot it."

"Liar. You've got a bulge in your bag. If that's not 'Spycatcher', then Ron's not going to be happy when I tell him you took his cannabis on a sewer trip."

"It's not Ron's bloody drugs," Marcus groaned, "Here."

He took out a shiny, small book from his bag and gave it to her.

"'Green Eggs & Ham'?" she read out, not amused, "Why is this garbage in my hands?"

"I thought it was more to your level of literature, Stacy."

After a good tussle later, Stacy triumphantly held 'Spycatcher' above her head. Marcus groaned and got up, muscles aching even more from the fight.

"Now what?" he moaned, "I think we're somewhere under Bassman Block."

"Hell no," Stacy corrected, "We passed Rat's River Run on the way here. We should be somewhere in the CBD."

"Oh great," Marcus said as he walked beside the river of sewage, "Mam'll kill us."

"We best not go back today then. She might even forget we're gone."

"The two most troublesome thirteen year-olds in the city; I doubt she'll be likely to forget us."

They walked through the sewers, talking animatedly about Ron's runs, the blocked sewer tunnel in Chinatown, the staff at the orphanage and whether or not the world of espionage described in 'Spycatcher' was actually real.

"Of course it isn't," Stacy chided, "No secret intelligence organisation could be so boring."

"But it goes into a lot more detail than anything by Robert Lumlum," Marcus argued, "The Borne series must be what it really means to spy."

Of course, spying brought way to war, which in turn brought them to the Transformers.

"So the Decepticons are all dead now?" Stacy asked.

"Well Optimus Prime said that there were probably a few left out there," Marcus remembered, "I remember some of them…"

"Like who?"

"Well, there was $250,000 reward for anyone who could give any information about any known Decepticons out there. I only remember one though; Ruination. Optimus created a hologram of him on the TV and he's this massive 'con that turns into a twin-bladed helicopter! I've forgotten what it was though…"

"An Osprey?" Stacy remembered up from an old military aircraft book.

"V-22 Osprey, that's it! Then there was this police car and a helicopter and a—"

"Barricade?" Stacy supplied again.

"Yeah! Apparently they've been chasing him for years—"

He stopped suddenly.

"Hang on," he mused, "Where are we?"

"Um…" Stacy looked about her, not recognising this particular sewer tunnel.

"I think we've gone deep into the CBD," Marcus wondered. They usually never went into the deep sewer tunnels in the CBD, because the workers there would chase them away. It was one of the few areas they had never fully explored.

"Come on then," Marcus grinned, "Let's go exploring."

"Wait!" Stacy called after him, but Marcus was already running down the sewer.

"Come on, we've never been down—" but Marcus was cut off. Because he had ran into someone.

He smacked into a person hidden in the shadows and bounced off a chest like concrete. He slid across the walkway, staring up at the hidden person. Stacy ran to his side, looking up as well.

But it wasn't the expected sewer worker. This was a boy, older then the both of them, who looked like he'd been down the sewer for five minutes. His jet black hair almost covered his eyes, and the dark trousers he wore had already been stained. His once expensive shoes were stained with rubbish and faecal matter. But most surprising of all were two things. The old, duster coat that he wore was actually dusty, not a single piece of garbage on it. And most strange of all, he wore a pair of dark sunglasses.

The boy looked down, his face expressionless.

Marcus and Stacy looked up.

"Ur… hello?" Marcus inquired.

"Seen any Koreans?" the older boy asked. His dark sunglasses looked ridiculous.

Marcus looked at him as if staring at a mental patient.

"Um, no. You don't get many Koreans down in the sewers of Mission City. Nor do you usually find strange kids wearing sunglasses in a dark tunnel."

"A kid comedian," sunglasses said, cool as you like, "Almost as annoying as the shit on my shoe."

"Hey, hey!" Stacy interrupted them, "I think we got off on the wrong foot guys. Listen, my name's Stacy Moore and this is Marcus Twist. We hang around here."

"Name's Ryder," sunglasses replied, "And more fool you for giving up your full names to a stranger."

"You don't look like a raving psycho," Stacy shot back.

"Looks can be deceiving," Ryder said, shrugging.

They stood in awkward silence.

"Well…" Marcus began, "What are you doing down here?"

"I could ask the same of you."

"Well we asked first."

"And I'm refusing to answer. What are you doing down here?"

Marcus frowned. "Exploring."

"The sewers? It's a lot cleaner in the city."

"We've been here many times before. We know the area."

"If you know the area, what are you exploring?"

"The sewers you're blocking entrance to."

Ryder stepped aside, old duster coat high enough not to trail in the muck.

Marcus and Stacy walked by, the sunglasses following them.

"Wait," Ryder spoke coolly.

"What?" Marcus asked, eyes suspicious.

"Mind if I tag along?"

Marcus smiled. "Only if you can keep up."

They ran down the sewers, Ryder in pursuit.

* * *

><p>Marcus and Stacy had their hands on their knees, breathing hard. Ryder simply walked by them, not breaking a sweat.<p>

"You're… you're fit," Marcus gasped between breaths.

Ryder simply shrugged and pulled a cigarette from the old duster coat. He struck a lighter, and smoke wafted through the air from the cigarette.

"Smoking's bad for your health," Stacy said.

"So is rolling around in the sewers."

Marcus stood straight and walked down the walkway, investigating new piles of rubbish and garbage. He heard Stacy and Ryder talking in the background.

"What's that?"

"Hmm? Oh, 'Spycatcher'."

"And here I thought all sewer-people were illiterate."

"We're not sewer people, we're orphans."

"And how long would it take for a stranger to track down all the Stacy Moore's and Marcus Twist's in orphanages in Mission City?"

While those two bickered, Marcus swept his eyes over all the rubbish. It's amazing what some people attempted to flush or dropped into drains.

And then something glinted in the darkness.

Marcus did a double-take. He watched.

Another glint.

Could it be a watch? A ring? Something that could pass as a diamond?

But when Marcus had rummaged through the waste to get it, it didn't fit any of those things, nor anything like them.

It was a small, strange, piece of metal. With small, strange hieroglyphics on it.

"Hey!" he called over to Stacy and Ryder. They quickly came over.

All three peered at it. It seemed to be glowing slightly.

"It seems to be glowing," Stacy noted.

"It doesn't look like it came off a Foreman grill, that's for sure," Marcus nodded.

"It looks alien," Ryder gazed.

All three looked at each other.

"Could it be part of the battle five years ago?" Marcus asked wildly.

"You mean a piece of an Autobot?" Stacy gasped.

"Or a Decepticon?"

"Could it be a bit of Megatron himself?" Stacy continued.

"Or the Allspark," Ryder noted calmly.

They looked up at him.

"The Allspark?" Marcus asked.

"I was there," Ryder nodded, gazing into the distance, "I remember…"

"It was the thing they were fighting over," Stacy remembered, "It was some kind of cube, filled with all sorts of energy and power…"

Without much consideration, Marcus picked it up.

"Whoa!" Stacy exclaimed, "Don't pick it up! You don't know what it will do!"

Marcus's eyes were alight with wonder. "If we hand this in, I wonder if will we meet Optimus Prime—"

A white flash. The sewers were filled light, destroying the darkness and blinding the rats.

Stacy screamed.

Ryder frowned.

And Marcus was filled with truth and light.

* * *

><p>"Three Pillars in two months; gentlemen, this is not acceptable."<p>

The conference room was dimly lit, keeping with the classified feeling of the meeting. Twelve men and two women sat around the table. The woman at the head of it was talking.

"The UN is considering disbanding NEST completely and I'm inclined to agree with them," she said, "So far, the scattered remnants of Cybertronian technology around the planet still remain scattered. The Pillars used in the Chicago siege are still in locations around the world, as are the Decepticons who planted them there. We have no viable information regarding the locations of any known Decepticon and there are even talks of exiling the Autobots from Earth completely. Colonel Lennox, you have something to say?"

"Yes ma'am," Colonel William Lennox spoke from his position at the table, "So far our operations since the battle at Chicago have run smoothly with no Decepticon contact at all. This suggests that either the Decepticons on Earth are no longer threats to us or they've left Earth completely. As we have no information about any Decepticon activity on Earth, you cannot justify believing that there are any left on our planet."

The Secretary of Defence, Charlotte Mearing, sighed.

"Yes, you are correct Colonel. But this doesn't change the fact that there were thousands of sightings of Pillars around the world, and with the exception of those in Chicago, only three have been found. Unless progress is made soon, NEST may have to step down.

"But back to the main matter at hand," Charlotte took some papers in front of her and looked them up and down, "The Decepticons."

Staff-Sergeant Robert Epps spoke up. "I thought we just cleared that up."

"No. We haven't," Charlotte continued on, "Sentinel Prime, Megatron, Shockwave, Starscream and Soundwave; these are the only Decepticons that apparently could threaten Earth properly, and all were killed in the battle at Chicago. Of unaccounted Decepticons that have been sighted on Earth, the list is as followed: Barricade, Bludgeon, Skywarp, Incinerator, Ruination, Astrotrain and Space Case. Of those, Barricade, Bludgeon and Astrotrain are supposedly thought dead. These Decepticons have been classified minor to low threat. All confirmed Decepticon corpses are located in Hangar 18, at the disclosed location. No further information has been allocated."

"What do you mean, 'supposedly thought dead'?" asked Major Nuka, the commander of NEST operations in Africa.

"As in we're not sure whether they're dead or not," Charlotte replied tersely, "Barricade was heavily injured in the battle of Chicago thanks to Colonel Lennox and his men, but his corpse was never recovered while Bludgeon and Astrotrain were fought and thought destroyed in the Diego Garcia incident."

There were some hung heads around the table. Many remembered the Diego Garcia incident and how Shockwave had wreaked havoc on NEST's own HQ. Director Galloway and many Autobots had been killed by that monster while Starscream had held up the others.

"Secretary of Defence."

All heads turned to the other end of the table. Although no-one sat at it, all eyes were focused on the wall behind it. It was one huge plasma screen, and a huge, metal head filled it.

"What did you mean by talks of being 'exiled from Earth'?" Optimus Prime asked, "I was not aware of such talks taking place."

"You were not aware of such talks because they were kept secret from you," Charlotte Mearing replied, "And as they are only ideas being thrown about, they did not really concern you."

"I think the subject of the Autobots life on your planet very much concerns us," Optimus's calm voice boomed across the room, "As we do not wish to leave your planet until we have eliminated every last Decepticon, I speak for all Autobots when I say we do not wish to let another human life be ended by their threat."

"As much as your consideration for us is touching Optimus, there are seven billion humans on Earth," Charlotte reminded him, "And I believe we can manage a maximum of seven Decepticons."

Optimus watched her carefully. "Believe me when I say that there are many more than just seven Decepticons out there. Out among the stars, they travel, searching for a master they do not realise has been killed. And when they arrive and find out that Megatron is dead, they will be very angry."

But at that moment, a man came rushing into the room, interrupting whatever Charlotte was going to say.

"Colonel Lennox, Optimus Prime!" he cried out, "Energon signatures are going off in Mission City! We have no Autobots there!"

"It seems they're back already," Optimus noted.

"At where it all began," Lennox muttered.

"Then you two best get your troops over there," Charlotte ordered, "I'd rather we never have another battle on American soil."

* * *

><p>Marcus awoke to the realisation that he was moving.<p>

He was being dragged up a ladder by Ryder, who was opening a manhole above them. He looked down to see Stacy looking up.

"Marcus!" she cried, "You're awake!"

"W-Where?"

"Good thing too," Ryder grunted with effort, "We're back on the surface."

As they appeared out of the ground, onto the sidewalk, pedestrians avoided the stinking children like the plague. Which is what they smelled like anyway.

As Stacy climbed out the manhole, Marcus shakily got to his feet.

"W-What happened?" he asked.

"Well for one," Ryder began, "You gave me a good reason to wear sunglasses underground. When you touched that piece of whatever, a bright flash filled the room and you were knocked unconscious. I've had to drag you a long way."

"Are you okay?" Stacy asked.

"Yeah," Marcus lied, head still spinning, "What happened to that piece of alien metal?"

"It… It turned to ash. Right before our eyes."

"Well there goes my chance of seeing Optimus Prime," Marcus joked, feeling the hope of seeing the legendary alien disappear. He smiled to cover his disappointment.

"Not quite…"

All three spun around at the voice. But there wasn't a pedestrian in sight, all of them having crossed the road to get away from the smelly kids. There was just a mangy stray and a bright red Subaru Impreza—

"You still got a chance," said the Subaru.

Marcus and Stacy leapt back from the Subaru. Ryder simply looked at the vehicle with mild curiosity.

"And who might you be?" Ryder asked.

"The new model," the Subaru replied, "Just kiddin'; name's Mirage. I'm an Autobot."

Marcus and Stacy stared at the car with shock on their faces. Ryder seemed kind of bored.

"Really?" he asked, "How about you transform and prove it."

"Yeah, sure," Mirage replied, "In the middle of a crowded city, with memories of that battle five years ago still here. The national guard would be on me in minutes."

"So what do you want?" Marcus asked.

The Subaru's doors opened.

"To take you for a ride you'll never forget."

The three kids stared at the open doors with mixed emotions.

"Come on," Mirage said cheerfully, "The big cheese is waiting for you guys."

"Optimus?" Marcus gasped, "How does he know about us?"

"We've been tracking pieces of Allspark ever since the battle," Mirage answered, "But with limited success; but now that you've picked it up, it's become a part of _you_."

"Me?" Marcus gaped, "How?"

"We've been tracking that sliver for weeks. When you picked it up and it was destroyed, we knew immediately what had happened; that sliver had transferred all its knowledge into your brain. Even though it is just a tiny piece, it still has a planetary archive of information in it; and now, it's all in your head. So get in, and I'll take you to NEST."

Marcus couldn't believe it. Was this really happening?

"Wait a sec," Stacy said, stopping Marcus from leaping in, "How can we trust you? For all we know, you could be Decepticon."

The Subaru bristled. "A Decepticon? You believe me a Decepticon? Don't compare the awesome power of Mirage with that of a mere Decepticon!"

Marcus turned to Stacy, a strange look in his eyes.

"Forty years from now, you'll look back and wish you got in the car," he said.

Stacy looked from him to Mirage. Then back again.

She got in the driver's seat.

As Marcus ran round to get in the passenger's seat, he turned to look at Ryder.

"You coming?" he asked.

Ryder shrugged his shoulders.

"Normally I wouldn't take a stranger's request to go in a strange car… but I need out of town quick, so all right then."

He got in the back and Mirage drove down the street.

* * *

><p>"Urr… where are we going?" Marcus realised.<p>

"NEST HQ," Mirage replied, "Detroit."

"Really? All the way to Michigan?"

"Sorry folks, long ride. You don't have any relatives do you?"

"No," Stacy replied in a small whisper.

"Good," Mirage said, before quickly correcting himself, "I mean, as in no-one will miss you… while you're gone… for now—"

Ryder slapped his forehead so hard it sounded like the crack of a whip. Marcus and Stacy turned, concerned.

"Sorry," Ryder said as the sunglasses slipped of his face, "I deserved that."

"Why?" Stacy asked, wondering why slapping oneself would be deserved.

"Because I'm an idiot." He picked up his sunglasses off the floor and Stacy noticed how blue his eyes were. They were bright, almost turquoise, like a shallow sea. But he didn't put the sunglasses back on.

"I've just remembered the messages Optimus Prime sent out; about the Autobots and the Decepticons and how you could tell the difference."

Mirage seemed to go slightly faster.

"And I remember Mirage being an Autobot."

"You see!" Mirage spoke with pride, "There's no way I'd be a creepy Decepticon!"

"But I also remember Mirage…"

Ryder put his sunglasses back on.

"…was a Ferrari."

And at that moment all hell broke loose.

The-Not-Actually-Mirage transformed in the middle of a junction, just as a twin-bladed helicopter came spiralling down towards them. People screamed and crashed into each over, trying to avoid the metal titan. The Decepticon held the three kids in his hand and grinned down at them as he towered over the road.

"Sorry guys," he snarled, "But you've reached a Dead End!"

* * *

><p>But at that moment the Humvees came round the corner.<p>

"Open fire!" Epps roared, and a mix of armour-piercing bullets and sabot rounds flew down the street.

Dead End did a backflip, letting the ordnance scream past, the street and cars exploding.

"Oh, shit," Epps muttered, "Next time, check your targets guys."

Dead End transformed again, the kids screaming as they found themselves back in the seats. Marcus tried the door as Dead End sped down the street, but it was locked tight.

"Let us out!" he roared.

Stacy screamed, while Ryder simply blocked his ears and sighed.

"SHUT UP!" Dead End roared at them, "I'm trying to drive!"

"You think you're going to win?" Marcus shouted back, "Megatron and Shockwave and all the rest got beaten by the Autobots; what makes you think that a pathetic little 'con like you will stand a chance?"

"Because I'm faster than they were."

Dead End shot down the street, causing Marcus to scream as well.

Ryder sighed louder and began singing.

"_The boys of the NYPD choir, were singing Galway Bay…_"

* * *

><p>As the Humvees tried to navigate the traffic in an attempt to chase Dead End, the twin-bladed helicopter dropped out of the sky and landed on its feet.<p>

"RUINATION!" Epps roared, "TAKE COVER!"

The Humvees were quickly evacuated as Ruination crushed one underfoot, roaring with delight.

"Ahh, insect!" he roared, pointing at Epps, "Remember Peru?"

"Don't bring it up," Epps muttered as he and his squad ducked into a café. He remembered the devil's highway all too well*.

Ruination sliced another Humvee in half with rotating blade, as a squad on the other side of the street opened fire.

"NO!" Epps roared, "GET INTO COVER!"

But it was too late. Ruination roared as a sabot round smashed off his shoulder, a rotating blade whirling. The squad screamed as they were hacked up like pieces of meat.

Epps ducked down into the café, shaking slightly.

"Alright guys, we need to get to higher ground. The Autobots should be here any second, so we have to take positions on upper floors or the roofs when they arrive."

They quickly followed him up the stairs at the back of the café.

"Where are you, insect?" Ruination roared down the street, "I'll squash you underfoot!"

He didn't notice the shapes descending from above.

Dead End stopped.

* * *

><p>Marcus and Stacy stopped screaming.<p>

They had reached the end of the road. The large lake that signalled the end of 4th street couldn't have looked more inviting.

"Ha!" Marcus roared triumphantly, "I guess you should have gotten a road map first!"

Dead End grumbled and the Subaru spun around…

…to see a figure blocking his way.

He towered over the road like a god, his blue and red form licked with painted flames. A huge energy sword was in place of his left hand, while his right held a long barrelled gun. His blue optics stared down at the Subaru, as if daring it to make the first move. Despite bristling with weapons and power, he still managed to seem regal, even with his awe-inspiring form.

"Release the children," he spoke in a low thunder.

"Optimus," Dead End grumbled, transforming, the kids in his right hand while the left had become a blaster. This he trained on the kids.

"One step closer, Prime, and these three innocents will just add to the tally you've already created!"

"I care not for how you perceive me," Optimus rumbled, "But if you want to live, I suggest you let go of the children, now."

"You think you can threaten me?" Dead End sneered, "I hold the insects, so I hold all the cards. I'm going to leave, and you and your Autobots won't get in my way. Understand?"

Optimus frowned, his sword and gun not moving. The smaller Dead End stared him down, unflinching.

Whereas Marcus and Stacy were close to panicking in the grip of the Decepticon, Ryder calmly pulled something from his coat. It was small, metal and black.

"I knew this would come in handy someday," he said, pulling a pin from the small, black object.

"What is it?" Marcus asked fearfully.

"EMP grenade," Ryder answered, before lobbing it at Dead End's face.

The grenade exploded against the Decepticon's head, releasing an invisible shockwave that ran right through his brain.

"Prepare for a drop," Ryder warned.

Dead End screamed and dropped the kids. His hands went to his face as Optimus fired the blaster.

A huge shot smashed into Dead End's chest.

The kids crashed to the ground.

* * *

><p>Ruination first learned of the Autobot's arrival, when a parachute landed over his head.<p>

Roaring and blind, he spun around, only to have something slice at his chest, sending pieces of metal flying. He let loose several missiles, but they missed completely and exploded along the street, sending cars and fire through the air. He tore off the parachute, just as Sideswipe kicked him in the face.

Pushed backwards, someone else ducked behind his feet, tripping him over. He roared as he fell, sending a missile into a building, the debris falling around them.

"We got Sideswipe and Mirage!" Epps roared, "Let him have it!"

The two Autobots leapt at the large Decepticon, blades flashing in the sun. Ruination tried to get back to his feet, only for Sideswipe and Mirage to slam him back down, slicing across him, shards of Decepticon flying everywhere. But Ruination was tough, kicking them off him, roaring again as he got to his feet. Epps and his squad opened fire, sabot round burning parts off the colossal Decepticon, missiles screaming as they hit his armour.

Realising this battle was lost, Ruination transformed as he leapt into the air, his rotors lifting him up. But Mirage was having none of it. Two hooks launched from his arms, connected by incredibly tough wire, and slammed into the retreating form of Ruination. Intending to pull the Decepticon down, Mirage found himself lifted into the air by Ruination. The more powerful Decepticon flew higher, with Mirage being dragged up as well.

"Drop, Mirage!" Epps called, "You can't beat him in the air!"

"I can take him," Mirage muttered, as he began to climb past the skyscrapers.

"Listen Mirage," Sideswipe called over the communicator, "He's right; you can't beat someone that big in the sky. You'll fall to your death."

Mirage grumbled something, before pulling the hooks back and falling.

As Ruination flew away, a long, curved blade appeared in Mirage's arm. He smashed it into the skyscraper, before riding the blade all the way down to the ground. He picked himself up as shattered glass fell about him.

"How about next time," Epps asked, "You do it with a little less collateral damage."

"How about next time," Mirage spoke with his low Italian accent, "You try and do it."

"How about next time," Sideswipe interrupted, "You two stop bickering and reflect on how I'm better I am then both of you."

They looked at him.

"Kidding," Sideswipe smiled, "Now let's find out what's happening with Optimus."

* * *

><p>They hadn't dropped far, so Marcus, Stacy and Ryder were alright with the exception of a few bruises and cuts.<p>

The same couldn't be said for Dead End.

He looked down at his hands, covered with energon. The shot had smashed through his chest, and his spark had been torn up like butcher's meat, leaking his vital fluids all over the road. He gasped, stepping back towards the lake.

He looked up at Optimus.

"I-I'm dying…"

"It didn't have to end this way Dead End," Optimus said, withdrawing his sword and placing his blaster on his back.

"B-But… they're only insects…"

"Freedom is the right of every sentient species," Optimus reiterated.

"Except if they're Decepticons," Dead End smiled sadly, "Right?"

"You made that choice long ago, and you chose evil and tyranny."

"Evil? Is that how you perceive me?" Dead End seemed to be actually sobbing, "I just wanted to survive."

"Then why didn't you just join us?" Optimus asked, surprised, "We would have kept you safe."

"Safe? We do not care for your protection…" Dead End coughed up some more energon, his life failing, "If you consort with such weak species… then more fool you…"

Optimus didn't answer, watching as Dead End turned to look at the lake. He looked at the yachts, while the humans on them looked back with awe.

He looked down at the kids, who (with the exception of Ryder) gaped in wonder at him.

"You think these humans care…?" Dead End sobbed, "Our race is dead, and a hundred meta-cycles from now, none of us will be alive… and no-one on your pathetic Earth will care…

"You can try to shape and mould these humans so that they won't repeat our mistakes… but they scheme and plan, pretend and trick… and when all the Decepticons are laid to rest, what will become of you? Nothing… absolutely nothing…"

"I do not believe that, Dead End," Optimus spoke firmly, "There is good in them."

"There is good in us!" Dead End roared, energon flying everywhere. "There is good in us…" he whispered, "But you believe it stems from charity…"

"How am I wrong?"

"It stems from belief… from belief in one's self… you'll see Optimus. One day, someone will show you what belief can do… and what creatures these insects are…"

Dead End sighed, as if finally breathing for the first time in his life, and toppled into the lake.

He slipped below the surface, and sank to the bottom.

All was silent.

And then slowly, surely, people came out of the buildings, came to look.

They stood around Optimus gazing up in awe.

And then one person clapped.

The applause rose in volume and then in speed. Soon cheering broke out and the gathering crowds roared their support.

Marcus and Stacy looked around them, before looking up at Optimus Prime.

He stared down at the gathered crowds, almost glowing with pride.

Ryder took out a cigarette and lit it.

As Epps and the other Autobots arrived, he sucked on the end, and smoke curled into the air.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, the sun struck hard over Rio de Janeiro.<p>

As children played in the favelas, tourists lounged on the beaches, criminals hid in the shadows and skyscrapers reflected the punishing sun across the city. The streets were filled with cars and bikes, as hundreds of thousands of people bustled around the busy city, unaware of impending doom.

High on a hill overlooking Rio, was Christ the Redeemer. The statue of Jesus overlooked the bustling city, his arms inviting the warm glow of the sun as tourists or pilgrims gathered at his feet.

It was beautiful.

But two dark, twisted shapes, appeared in the sky.

They slowly descended, savouring their free-fall, seeing who could last the longest before spreading their wings.

Eventually, the black one slowed his descent and landed near to the statue, blood-red optics surveying the sights before him, his twisted claws reeking of menace and doom. The people quickly fled.

The second, a dark blue shape of awe-inspiring metal and terrifying power, landed directly next to the Christ. His claws stroked the statue, while he gazed out over Rio.

"The City of God," he rumbled, his voice like rolling thunder, his tone containing nothing but malevolence.

"Look at it," the black cybertronian snarled in a nasal voice, "An insect hive, filled to the brim."

The blue one's arm transformed into an axe. "Then we best cut it down to size," he uttered darkly.

The black one frowned. "Commander Thundercracker, please remember the mission."

A twisted grin formed on Thundercracker's face. "Oh believe me Flatline… I have not forgotten. These insects will pay for bringing down Lord Starscream and Lord Megatron."

As people looked up to see the son of God, he was accompanied by two scions of death.

Thundercracker could barely contain his eagerness to wipe out the humans.

"This is the beginning… the beginning of something new…"

Flatline grinned sadistically. "Let the blood rain."

"I will be the catalyst for the resurrection of our leaders… and the catalyst for the insects mourning. Let the fear take them, and cast them into oblivion."

And then they descended upon the city.

* * *

><p>I will try to upload the rest as they come!<p>

*Transformers: The Veiled Threat


	2. Good Mourning Part 2

Episode 2: Good Mourning (Part 2)

_Killer, intruder, homicidal man  
>You see me coming, run as fast as you can<br>Bloodthirsty demon, who's stalking the street  
>I hack up my victims like pieces of meat<em>

—**Black Friday**

* * *

><p>"Oh no," Lennox said, exasperated, "There is absolutely no way."<p>

He looked at the three kids that were now standing before him, in NEST HQ.

"The Decepticons will be out looking for them," Optimus warned, "The youngest boy, Marcus, may have information relating to lost cybertronian secrets that the Decepticons may do anything to acquire."

Lennox put his head in his hand.

"Okay then," he sighed, "How did this happen?"

"Well…" Optimus began…

* * *

><p>Driving the Humvee, Epps found his nose filled with sewage.<p>

"Man, do you guys need a bath," he said, forcing a smile.

In the back, the three kids were accompanied by two soldiers, each trying not to clench their nose out of etiquette.

Stacy was asleep, exhausted by the day's events, her head on Marcus's shoulder. The adrenaline had passed, so Marcus also felt close to sleep, leaning his head against the metal plating of the vehicle. Ryder seemed the only one who wasn't tired, just rather bored.

"So where we going?" he asked at last.

"Hospital," Epps replied, "We need to get you guys checked out, see if that fall you took caused any internal bleeding."

"We're fine, really," Marcus said, as his vision turned blue, "Oh, hang on… I don't think that's supposed to happen."

"What?" Epps asked, concerned.

"The sea is sideways," Marcus smiled whimsically.

He then slumped over, unconscious.

"Oh shit," Epps breathed, "We better get there, double-time."

* * *

><p>Marcus awoke in a white room.<p>

He lay in a clean bed, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. White tiles and white bandages seemed to illuminate the room, while confusing computer screens read off confusing statistics. It all seemed too clean, too… sterile.

He breathed. Could the past 24 hours really have happened?

He had seen him.

Optimus Prime.

The leader of the aliens known as the Autobots. They came from a planet far away… a planet that, after the events in Chicago, had been destroyed.

They were nomads in space. Without a home and without a hope. And all the while, the power-hungry Decepticons hunted them down.

And out of duty, out of respect and out of belief, Optimus Prime protected the human race against the Decepticon threat. He had killed them all, with the assistance of the human allies. He was looked upon by most of humanity with awe, thanks and respect.

But there were still problems.

The Decepticons. They were still out there.

Although Megatron had bitten the dust twice, Marcus still remembered the reports and interviews on TV about a different dead Decepticon; Starscream. Despite the cool name, he apparently was nothing more than a weakling and a coward. Yet despite his inferiority to both Optimus and Megatron, he had lived longer than both of them; they had both died, and been resurrected. He had survived the battle at Mission City, survived a massive hunt in Africa, survived the events in Egypt and survived everything that had happened in-between. But in Chicago, out of sheer arrogance, he had been brought low by a single human.

And if he could survive for so long on a hostile Earth, who's to say the other Decepticons out among the stars couldn't?

How come no-one had found Dead End before?

"_Evil? Is that how you perceive me? I just wanted to survive…"_

Marcus had almost died…

And that brought him back to the Allspark shard—

But at that moment, three figures walked in: A military man, a dark-skinned woman and an Asian doctor.

"Where am I?" Marcus asked hurriedly, "Where's Stacy? What happened—?"

"Please calm down Marcus," the doctor said soothingly, "First off, you're in Barber Hospital, still in Mission City. Stacy is another room here, but she's sleeping at the moment. As for who we are, I'm Doctor Andrews; I'll be tending for you while you're here. This is Brigadier-General Charles Mason; he's the Director of NEST; the joint Autobot and human task force. And this is Gerin Rahb, NEST Human Relations."

"Hello Mr Twist," she smiled, with a strange accent that must have been African, "The name may sound strange to you, but it's quite common from where I come from." In a single second, Marcus found himself smitten. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, far exceeding all the famous actresses and models he'd seen on TV. Her face was round and pretty, her smile warm and giving.

Mason nodded at Marcus, barely acknowledging him. He was a round, plump man, with a round, plump face. His stern look and large eyebrows made him look like the gruff, fifty year-old man that he was. He was dressed in full uniform, his medals shining like an arrogant array of gems.

"Now," Doctor Andrews continued, "With the exception of several minor cuts and slight bruises, you are fine physically. However, there were some strange results in the CAT scan…"

"Why? What's wrong with my brain?" Marcus asked hurriedly.

"No, no—nothing's wrong with it. It's just, some strange readings came up…"

"What happened in the sewers?" Mason asked gruffly, annoyed by the time wasting.

Marcus thought back. They had met Ryder. He had found the sliver of Allspark. He had picked it up…

"I… I found a bit of the Allspark," he remembered, "Just a sliver. I picked it up—"

"How did you know it was from the Allspark?" Mason asked.

"Mir—Dead End told me," Marcus remembered, "He said they had been tracking it for weeks."

"The Decepticon?"

"Yeah; after I picked up the sliver, I remember this flash of light, then nothing. I awoke while being dragged up a manhole by Ryder. When we got out, Dead End was waiting."

"What about the sliver?"

"Stacy… Stacy told me it turned to ash. Right before her eyes."

"What happened next?"

"Well, Dead End appeared and claimed he was an Autobot; Mirage. So we got in—"

"He told you he was an Autobot and you believed him?" Gerin asked, unbelieving.

Marcus felt his cheeks burn. "Yeah, it wasn't one of my brightest moments…" he admitted shamefully.

"We all make mistakes," she smiled warmly.

"Yeah, but getting into a strange car at the car's request isn't one of the more forgivable."

She smiled again and Marcus felt his heart rise in his chest.

"And then what?" Mason asked, almost bored by the conversation.

"Hang on," Gerin frowned at the general, before turning to Marcus, "What about your family? Can you give me their address?"

Marcus looked down. "Me and Stacy don't have a family. We're orphans."

Gerin's face became sympathetic. "I know how it feels; I'm an orphan as well. Although down in Zimbabwe, I don't believe you could have been worse off than me."

"And then what?" Mason echoed impatiently, "After you got in the Decepticon?"

"Well, he took us down some streets, saying he was going to take us to NEST HQ… hang on, he said something about the Allspark transferring its knowledge into me! Is that what's wrong with my brain?"

Andrews sighed, while Mason looked down unperturbed. "Continue," he ordered, "And then we'll tell you about what's happened to you."

Marcus frowned, beginning to dislike this gruff old soldier. "Well, he told me that we were going to NEST HQ, where Optimus Prime was waiting to meet us… is it really in Detroit?"

"What is?" Gerin asked.

"NEST HQ."

"No, it's somewhere in the Nevada desert. Area 51."

"Hey!" Mason turned, angry, "You can't just be divulging top secret information like that to children!"

"I'm thirteen…" Marcus grumbled.

"Well, we both know he's going to end up there anyway," Gerin sighed, "Right?"

"I am?" Marcus asked, shocked, "Really?"

Mason looked ready to explode. "We'll tell you everything, once you tell us what happened."

"Ryder quickly realised that this wasn't Mirage, so Dead End transformed in the middle of the street. Then you army guys came round the corner and started blasting up the block."

To his credit, only one vein visibly throbbed in Mason's head.

"Dead End quickly transformed again and sped down a street, but reached a dead end,"—Marcus smiled slightly at his pun—"turned around and Optimus Prime was just standing there. We were then thrown into a hostage situation. But, luckily, Ryder had an EMP grenade and threw it—"

"A what?" Mason interrupted again.

"An EMP grenade."

"Where the hell did he get that?"

"I've no idea. We met him in the sewers."

"Hold up!" Gerin interrupted, unbelieving, "You met a kid in the sewers, who had a military grenade, found a sliver of the Allspark, got tricked by an obvious Decepticon and found yourself in a hostage situation, all in one day?"

"Yeah," Marcus replied, "_Life's full of surprises_."

Marcus clamped his mouth shut. He hadn't meant to say that; he wasn't a sarcastic person by nature. So why had he uttered those last four words…?

"And then what?" Mason asked again. He could have copyrighted it as a catchphrase.

"Well, we dropped and Optimus shot Dead End. Then they spoke in their alien language for a few seconds, before Dead End fell in the lake. He actually seemed quite sad…"

"Who?"

"The Decepticon."

"Then what?"

"We got loaded up into the Humvee, everything went a bit hazy and then I woke up here."

"That it?"

"That's it."

"Well then," Doctor Andrews said, relieved, "I can now tell you Marcus, that your brain is working at a capacity of 476% compared to the average adult brain."

"Right…" Marcus thought for a second, "What's the percentage for the average brain?"

"Around 30%."

"So mine's high?"

"Impossibly high."

"Cool," Marcus nodded, "What does that mean?"

"Dead End may have been right."

* * *

><p>It was night. Marcus hadn't caught a wink of sleep.<p>

The interview (more like interrogation) had flowed like water after that. Apparently, whatever was stored in Marcus's brain, the remaining Decepticons may want to take advantage of it. So he and his friends would be transferred to NEST HQ, where they would be kept safe.

But there was one thing that remained unclear; why had the sliver transferred the knowledge into Marcus's mind?

Marcus didn't know, and frankly, he couldn't care less. He didn't feel any smarter and he certainly didn't know any new cybertronian secrets.

He turned over in his covers, trying to get to sleep.

Someone giggled.

He sat up immediately. He looked around.

All was silent and the room was empty.

He fell back into his covers, and blamed it on the ventilation.

But as he drifted off to sleep, he swore he heard a voice.

"_Beware Harbinger…"_

* * *

><p>He stood on the edge. Or was it the verge? He couldn't tell. And he couldn't tell what he was standing on anyway. His entire attention was on the battle before him.<p>

Fires raged and explosions lit the blood-red sky. Twisted steel and ruined titanium littered the corpse-filled valley, a ruin and monument to death. Carrion circled and in the distance, a wolf howled. But in the valley, a figure stood triumphant.

Black of colour and of shadow, this creature stood over the corpses like an artist over sculptures. His entire right arm was that of a cannon, and an eye the colour of gore shone out from his jet-black face. It stood immobile, a demon in hell.

It turned on Marcus and a chill ran down his spine.

But then Marcus saw something strange. There were strings attached to this demon, strings that led into the sky, into the red dawn.

A figure, huge in the sky, loomed over them.

Eyes of yellow spite and of cunning ambition looked down on them all, a master of puppets and a lord of manipulation. It looked down gleefully, enjoying the control it had over everyone.

But then Marcus' vision panned out, and he saw that this entire charade was taking place within an eye. A blood-red eye, strangely different from the demon in the valley, contained it all. It gazed with malevolence, laughing at everyone and everything.

And then everything exploded outwards. But not with flame or water, but with purple crystals. They stretched everywhere, screaming outwards like penetrating spikes. They crushed all beneath them, and infested everything else.

But a figure stood atop them, wreathed in shadow and evil. His eyes glared as a mouth-full of razor-sharp teeth and saliva roared at Marcus. It looked at him with evil intensity.

And then he awoke.

"_Good mourning; rise and cry."_

* * *

><p>The sun beat down upon his armour. The thirst for energon quenched his throat. The trident in hand, he stalked through the Gobi desert.<p>

He found Ruination a minute later.

The Decepticon lay on his back, staring at the sky, feeling the sun's warmth flow through his body. His injuries had almost put him into stasis lock, but he looked up when a shadow blocked the light.

"Space Case…" he muttered, staring at the silhouette in his vision, "Move!"

Space Case stepped aside, allowing the sun to warm Ruination again.

"Where's…?"

"Dead End?" Ruination guessed, "He's being scraped off the bottom of a lake. Prime put a hole in his chest."

"Shame," said the jittery Space Case, "Who will lead us now?"

"Well, there's only us two here and Barricade in stasis lock, back in the lair. Although he would have been perfect, he's in a faraway land… so we have to vote among us two; who will lead?"

"Well, I vote for Space Case!" Space Case said quickly, "I take 30% of the votes!"

"Come on Space Case, use your brain for once; you're half, so you get 50% of the votes… actually scratch that; you get them all."

Although Space Case was one of the fastest Decepticons who ever lived, his brain didn't work quite as well. It took him a minute to work out that he was—

"Decepticon leader!" Space Case roared triumphantly, "I shall now be addressed as Lord Space Case!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Ruination grumbled, "You're only leader because you're the only Decepticon who isn't injured or dead."

"You're injured?" Space Case asked, sweeping his eyes over Ruination, "Oh yeah… was it the Autobots?"

"Autobots and insect scum," Ruination spat, "I remember him from when me and Blademaster were in Peru, hunting down the Solar Harvester. Now Blademaster's dead and I'm left with just you."

Space Case sat down beside the prone form of Ruination. He looked up at the sun.

"They're all dead," Space Case muttered, "Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave… even Dead End. Anyone who was even slightly smarter than us is dead."

"Which proves something Space Case," Ruination replied, "You can be strong, you can be smart, you can be powerful or you can be cold; but if you're dumb, you survive."

"No… you just have to be fast," Space Case jabbered, "Well… Ruination; have you ever thought of just surrendering to the Autobots?"

Ruination frowned, but then his expression relaxed. "Yeah… but I quickly realised we'd be paraded around as the first alien prisoners of this hunk of rock and then handed over to the insect scientists for experimentation. We're better off here."

Space Case looked at some camels in the distance. They walked into the horizon, their lives wasting away as they paced across the burning sands.

"So… we're the last two Decepticons left?"

"Of course not," Ruination argued, "There are many among the stars… but we're probably the last two on Earth. So whoopee for surviving so long."

Space Case suddenly leapt up and held his trident in the air.

"Then, by the powers invested in me, Lord Space Case, I order you to return to the lair to help plan our next mission!"

"And this is from the guy who robbed an insect gas station looking for energon," Ruination sighed, "Well, Lord Space Case, as you are leader of the Decepticons, it is your job to look after your troops."

"It is?"

"Therefore, as I am 'heavily' injured, you must drag me back to the lair, or would you rather have no troops to command at all?"

Grumbling, Space Case placed his trident on his back and began the arduous task of dragging the heavy Ruination through the desert.

"Mind the camel excrement," Ruination warned, as the sun began to set.

* * *

><p>Marcus sat up in bed, sweating profusely, staring around him.<p>

The room was empty.

_What was that? That dream… that voice…_

Marcus looked down at his sheets to find he had wet himself.

_Well done you idiot. Great job on pissing yourself at a nightmare._

So in the early morning, Marcus Twist got out of bed to find a nurse with clean sheets.

And yet three words echoed through his brain.

_Rise and cry…_

* * *

><p>Later in the morning, the travelling began.<p>

Five hours after that and they were in Area 51.

It hadn't originally been named Area 51, only Bunker SIGINT, an underground base where meteorites and supposed alien hardware had fallen from the sky and been stored. Of course, only a handful of alien technology had been recovered and all of it was cybertronian.

And now, after the Diego Garcia fiasco, the place was filled with Autobots.

"You still haven't explained to me why these three kids are here," Lennox said, not angry, just slightly tired.

"If the Decepticons are looking for Marcus, and the information he has stored in his brain, then he must be kept in the safest place possible; that is here," Optimus replied, "There will always be at least one Autobot and a human protection detail here to keep everything safe. The children have said they have no biological or fostered relations, so they do not mind being here."

"Plus, this place is freakin' amazing," Marcus gazed, looking around the large room that they were in, filled with weapons and Autobots.

"This isn't a sight-seeing tour," Lennox said firmly, "I'm uncomfortable with children in what could be a possible battleground. But if it's for their safety…"

"There is another matter to discuss," Optimus said, "The information from the Allspark sliver."

"Yeah," Stacy interrupted, "What's that about?"

"With the disintegration of that piece of the Allspark, the information it contained was carried via the cells in Marcus to his brain. We have yet to determine what has happened to his cerebrum; the Allspark's energy is unlike any other."

"Well, I don't know if this is related," Marcus began, "But last night—"

He suddenly fell to the ground, twitching.

"Marcus!" Stacy cried.

Lennox and Stacy ran to his side, Optimus crouching down to see what was happening. Ryder simply gazed, uninterested.

"We need a medic!" Lennox roared, but just as he said it, Marcus stopped twitching and looked up, fear in his eyes.

"What happened?" Stacy asked fearfully.

Somehow, Marcus knew something that he definitely shouldn't have known.

"Something's happening in Rio."

* * *

><p>Thundercracker and Flatline landed in the favela.<p>

The people looked up, fear in their eyes. Several screamed and ran.

"The insect forces will be on us soon," Flatline snarled, tempted to squash the bugs.

"One thing you must learn from these insects Flatline, is that they always pray to the deity that is biggest."

With those words, Thundercracker turned to the crowds and spoke in Spanish.

"Do not worry," he told them, "My friend and I are Autobots on direct orders from Optimus Prime himself; someone in one of these houses holds cybertronian technology. We wish only to recover our Pillar."

The crowd looked up, and seeing that these Transformers weren't there to kill them, began cheering wildly.

"Please," Thundercracker spoke politely, but was seething inside for conversing with such pitiful creatures, "We need our technology. It is being wrongly held from us by some people in this… nest."

This time, the gathering crowds of people began pointing to a long favela, and from what they were saying a strange object was located.

"You see Flatline?" Thundercracker smiled, "This is why Megatron failed; he never opened with diplomacy."

Flatline walked down the street, the humans managing to get out of the way just in time, and tore the roof of the favela. Inside, several Latino men were attempting to cover a long object with tarpaulin. Flatline simply pointed a blaster at them, much to the delight of the crowds.

"Leave. I won't ask twice."

The men quickly scarpered, where they were shunned by the crowds. Flatline grabbed the object in both hands, holding it almost reverently.

"With the exception of a few crude attempts to get it working," Flatline noted, "The Pillar is perfectly usable for the plan, Commander Thundercracker."

"Good. Then see to it that you rig it correctly."

With a nod of acknowledgement, Flatline took to the sky. The crowds cheered and whooped.

Thundercracker looked around at the awed crowd. Children looked up with wondrous eyes.

"Now then…" he spoke with gleeful malice, "Let the blood rain."

His arm becoming a blaster, he opened fire on the crowds, blowing the people to pieces.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" Marcus asked as Optimus Prime and several Autobots got ready.<p>

"We're using the Pillars to teleport to Rio," Blazemaster, the Autobot's chief scientist replied, "But it will take a few minutes for the coordinates to be affirmed."

"Why?"

"So we don't materialise in a building or a thousand metres above the ground."

"Can I come?"

"Sorry kid," Arcee, one of the two Autobot sisters, said, "But you're not allowed in the warzone."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll be killed."

"Oh."

"What exactly did you see?" asked Sideswipe sceptically.

"I saw a huge transformer wrecking Rio," Marcus remembered, "He was big, blue and angry."

Arcee shivered suddenly.

"…Blue?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Optimus," she turned to him, "It could be—"

"It could very well be him," Optimus replied stoically, "But that doesn't affect the mission; we go to Rio de Janeiro and see what's happening."

"Optimus!" called a voice.

Optimus turned to the human. "Sergeant Robertson, you have the satellite feed?"

"Yes sir," Robertson replied, "Looks like some crazy shit down there; we got a Decepticon walking about, wrecking all kinds of havoc."

"Looks like you're not crazy at least," Mirage sneered at Marcus as he neared the Pillars in the centre of the room, "Are we moving or what?"

Optimus, the sisters and Sideswipe joined him.

"Alright then," Blazemaster said, "The rest of you step back; we're about to beam you guys."

The Pillars hummed, and then hovered in the air, flashing and whirring, power running through the ancient cybertronian technology.

Then, with a flash of blue light, the Autobots were gone.

* * *

><p>"Please…" a man begged, lying on his back in the street, "I have a wife… a baby daughter…"<p>

"War spares none," Thundercracker spoke coldly, his voice filled with impending horror, "Just know this; when you're gone, they will be next."

As he brought the axe down on the man, shearing him in half, gore splaying everywhere, a blue flash lit up the street.

He turned, to see five Autobots staring back.

"Ah," Thundercracker grinned, "Optimus… I hoped you would come, though not so soon…"

Optimus readied his keyblade, staring down the large Decepticon.

"Thundercracker, your crimes must now come to an end…" but he stopped as he gazed around him.

The street was a bloodbath.

Buildings were on fire, or crumbling, while flames torched the street and the injured were left wailing. The dead were all over the place.

"W-What have you done?" Optimus could scarcely believe the massacre before him. Not since Chicago…

"Were you unable to save them, Optimus Prime?" Thundercracker sneered, "Unable to help the insects? Unable to face the fact that they are dead, and you are too late?"

"You will not take another life," Optimus uttered, enraged, "You will not be reprieved."

"Good," Thundercracker snarled, his hand becoming an axe, "I hate charity."

"You bastard!" Arcee roared and leapt at him, unsheathing a sword, slashing with fury.

"Ah, Arcee!" Thundercracker laughed as he dodged, "Long time no see!"

"Sister!" Chromia cried, leaping in as well, the other Autobots hot on her heels.

Thundercracker swung his hand, batting the two sisters away, slamming them into a building, rubble falling around them. Sideswipe was next, easily dodging a swing of the axe, before slashing at Thundercracker's knee. He roared and spun around, kicking out, catching Sideswipe in the chest, sending him into a building. Mirage leapt on Thundercracker's back, stabbing with his arm blades. In response, Thundercracker grabbed him and threw him across the street, knocking the sisters down again.

"Pathetic fools!" Thundercracker roared, "You will burn here today!"

"Thundercracker!"

The Decepticon turned. Optimus stood, his hands replaced by blades.

"This is between you and me."

A message echoed in Thundercracker's head.

_Commander Thundercracker, it is ready._

_Excellent. On my mark Flatline…_

"Do you realise Optimus?" Thundercracker uttered with menace, "It's just me left. Megatron, Starscream, they're all dead. I am the last."

"So, here and now, let it end," Optimus spoke.

"No," Thundercracker smiled cryptically, "Here and now, let it begin."

Optimus charged, roaring as he did so.

* * *

><p>"So what do you do around here?" Ryder asked.<p>

"Me?" Skids replied, scratching his head, "Uh, I dunno… hey, Mudflap; what do I do?"

"Dunno," Mudflap replied, "Bein' a loser, I guess."

As the twins began to scrap, Ryder sighed. "Those are the two biggest imbeciles I've ever seen."

"They're stronger than you," Stacy frowned, "So you better watch your mouth; you couldn't take them in a fight."

Ryder frowned at that.

"Watch me."

He approached the twins.

"Hey, dingbats!" he called, "Fight me?"

"Uh, you?" Skids questioned, confused.

"Optimus says no fightin' humans," Mudflap remembered, "I think…"

"Don't worry," Ryder said confidently, "You won't beat me… pussy."

"What you call me?" Mudflap said angrily, approaching Ryder, "Say dat again!"

"Pussy," Ryder reiterated, his face expressionless.

"That's it!" Mudflap shouted and swung his fist down.

He didn't hit anything. In fact, Ryder had moved so fast, Mudflap hadn't even seen him.

"You know," Ryder mocked from behind Mudflap, "I expected the protectors of Earth to be faster."

"Hey!" Skids cried, "Nobody insults my bro!"

Ryder dodged the flailing Autobot as if it wasn't even there. He spun in-between legs and slid under blows that would have killed him outright.

"Hey!" Lennox called from above, "Stop! Blazemaster, get the twins!"

He needn't have bothered. Both twins had fallen on top of one another, each one dazed and confused. Ryder stood beside them, dusting off his hands, nonchalant.

"At least this place is more amusing then the city," he noted dryly.

"You know Ryder," Stacy frowned again, "You're kind of a prick."

Ryder simply shrugged, and lit a cigarette.

* * *

><p><em>This is it.<em>

_The last chance._

_The final gamble._

_The future of our race rests on perfect timing…_

"FLATLINE, NOW!" Thundercracker roared.

Optimus, still halfway through his charge, skidded to a halt, not knowing what was about to happen.

Something materialised in Thundercracker's arms.

Optimus' optics grew wide in shock.

A jury-rigged Pillar was aimed straight at Optimus's chest.

With a flash of blue light, an energy beam sliced down the street, illuminating it even better in the light of day. The light smashed Optimus Prime in the chest, causing him to cry out in pain and to bring him to his knees. The beam was concentrated on Prime's chest, never wavering, pushing Optimus's chest armour apart. Thundercracker's face was contorted with concentration.

Over the com, he heard Flatline's breathless delight.

_By Primus… it's working! Ha! It's almost free!_

Optimus roared with the pain, as something was dragged out of his chest by the teleportation equipment. As he peered down, he saw what it was.

_The… Matrix… The Matrix of Leadership!_

The strange artefact that was powered by the energy of the Allspark was what had been used to start the Solar Harvester. It was also the only thing that could reactivate a dead cybertronian's spark…

_NO! He… must not… have it…_

As the realisation dawned on Optimus's face, Thundercracker's grew in delight.

"Ahh, Prime," Thundercracker gritted his teeth against the reverberation and recoil of the Pillar, "Do you see now…? It was never… about… you and Megatron. It was always… about… the common soldier… and how he could beat the mightiest of leaders."

"NO!" Optimus roared as the Matrix was pulled out his chest.

With a flash of blue light, the Matrix was pulled into the blinding light of the Pillar, whereupon it disappeared.

All was silent in the street.

Optimus heaved with pain, his armour broken, his spark visible.

Thundercracker stared down at him.

"I remember," Thundercracker muttered, partly to himself, "A young, ambitious, foolish 'con; Dreadwing. Just your basic soldier, your basic grunt. But he wanted more than what had been allocated by fate… he fought me and Lord Starscream and met his end on the red planet. But… he tried. And sometimes, the soldier will come out on top. I don't expect you to understand, Optimus, being the self-righteous imbecile that you are, but just remember this; here, you failed to beat the common soldier, and that will haunt you to the rest of your days."

Then, firing up the Pillar one last time, with another blue flash, Thundercracker was gone.

Optimus fell to the ground, fading to black.

* * *

><p>"So why didn't you go with Optimus?" Stacy asked.<p>

"Because we have no way of knowing how the Pillars will teleport organic life forms," Lennox replied, "We only know of one person who has touched a Pillar, and he got electrocuted."

"Oh, how sad…"

"Not really," Lennox grunted, "He was working for the Decepticons."

"Really? But why would humans work with Decepticons?"

"Because people are greedy, stupid, malicious sons of b—"

"Colonel Lennox!" called Sergeant Robertson, "Something's gone wrong in Brazil."

"What? How?"

"Our Brazilian division arrived in the city; it's bad and Optimus is in stasis lock."

Everyone in the room could scarcely believe their ears. Optimus… defeated? The only 'con anyone knew could take Optimus was Megatron, and he was dead… so who could have done this?

"What about the other Autobots?" Lennox asked hurriedly.

"They're all shaken and injured."

"Right… send clean-up crews to get Optimus. Blazemaster, get the rest of the Autobots back and then head there yourself to see if Optimus can be taken through the Pillars as well. Ratchet, have you and your medic teams standing by. Epps, we need satellite pictures of the battle… actually, why don't we have them now?"

Epps stood there, looked around and shrugged.

Lennox sighed. "Well, get them. Lieutenant Ramirez, get some squads over to Hangar 18."

"The dead 'cons sir?"

"Yes; I only know of two Decepticons who could possibly beat Optimus; Megatron and Shockwave. Their corpses are supposed to rest in that hangar, so I want you to check if they're still there."

Ramirez saluted and hurried off.

"Great," Lennox muttered, "We're at our most vulnerable, just as they're considering closing NEST. People aren't greedy, stupid or malicious; we're all just idiots."

* * *

><p>"How did you find this place Flatline?"<p>

"Soundwave is quite possibly the most cleverest Decepticon who ever lived; in case of him getting 'taken out', he left backups of some of his data in the human's systems; after all, why would the insects look for Decepticon secrets in their own defence firewalls and why would the Autobots be rifling through there as well?"

"So how did you find it?"

"The first thing we did when we arrived was to hack into the insect's systems, right? I rifled through the faction known as the 'Americans' and found a lot of interesting stuff there; namely, where the Fallen's corpse was originally taken."

"Hangar 18."

"However, after a few weeks of the Fallen's corpse being here, the guards began to suffer from all sorts of psychokinetic diseases. Performing probably the only smart move in their war against us, General Mason, who is Director of NEST, had the body incinerated."

"And the guards?"

"Replaced by the ones we just killed."

They both looked at the huge Hangar 18. It was more of a titanic warehouse; although Hangar 18 was thought to be at Nellis Air Force Base, the real one was located much further away. Dwarfing even the Transformers, it was where the Decepticons had been dumped after the Laurentian Abyss was deemed a failure. Now it was where the scientists of NEST and the Autobots helped the research into cybertronian weapons technology.

"Are we going in?" Flatline asked gleefully. Flatline was always happy when something involved corpses.

Thundercracker frowned. "I don't believe I'll like what I see."

"They're dead; the dead do not frighten, only intrigue."

Thundercracker hesitated.

Flatline sighed. "Then just picture how they'll be in an hour, standing over Optimus's corpse instead of how they'll be strung up like mannequins."

Thundercracker grunted, before blowing a hole in the huge doors.

They went inside.

"We don't have long," Flatline said urgently, "Resurrect them."

* * *

><p>"You ever think, you know, that we're just pawns?"<p>

Ruination looked up from his position in the lair (lair was a word too complimentary; it was a cave barely big enough to fit them) and stared at Space Case.

"What?" he asked plainly.

"Death. Everyone just seems to be dying… all of our guys are dead… so, you know, maybe we're part of some sort of higher plan, where the Decepticons lose and the Autobots win… you know? Maybe, like, we're in an insect movie, or an insect book, and the author has already singled out that we are to die… so what's the point in continuing?"

Ruination was tempted to smack Space Case there and now for being such a whiner, but something stayed his hand. Space Case had really thought about this. And that was a miracle in itself, because Space Case never thought about anything.

"Well… I don't believe in that fate scrap. You can believe what you want, _Lord _Space Case, but the fact of the matter is, is that I decide what I want to do; there is no higher plan in that. If our lives are controlled by Primus, or an insect God, then fine; get on with it. I just know that I'm alive, so there. If you think you're already pre-destined to lose, then just go ahead and commit suicide. I don't even care."

With that little slice of philosophy, Ruination slumped back against the rock wall and let his injuries heal. Opposite him, lying on some rocks, was the prone form of Barricade, fighting for his life.

Space Case frowned at Ruination, before his face lit up with revelation. He turned to the night sky outside.

"Then, by the power invested in me, Lord Space Case, if I am not destined to die, then I will stop at nothing to stop the war between the Decepticons and the Autobots!"

He heard Ruination softly chuckle behind him.

"Believe me Space Case, the only way you'll stop this war is if you get the humans and the Autobots to fight; then Optimus will have to form a truce with the Decepticons to survive. If you ever accomplish that, then you can say 'I told you so'."

Ruination smiled smugly, before closing down his power systems to rest.

But Space Case looked out to the night sky and wondered.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the incredibly lame way in which the Decepticons are resurrected; I just used the MacGuffins Michael Bay left me with. Oh well, after the first four chapters, we can really begin 'Good Mourning'!<p> 


	3. Good Mourning Part 3

Chapter 3. Good Mourning (Part 3)

_Foreign life forms __i__nventory__  
>Suspended state of cryogenics<em>_  
>Selective amnesia's the story<em>_  
>Believe foretold, but who'd suspect?<em>_  
><em>—**Hangar 18**

* * *

><p>"My God… Optimus."<p>

He lay on an a huge operating table, being tended to by Ratchet. The leader of the Autobots had been stricken down, Thundercracker's Pillar having torn open his chest to get at the Artefact of the Primes. Although every other Autobot who had travelled to Rio had also been injured, they all watched Optimus struggle for life on that table.

"Will he recover?" Stacy asked fearfully.

"Of course," Ratchet replied as he tended to Optimus, "Nothing was shot into him; it was merely pulled out. It's all a matter of repairing his chest and then allowing him a few days recovery."

"But the Decepticons have the Matrix!" Marcus cried out, "They can resurrect Megatron and the rest!"

"No," Ryder said confidently, "They were blasted into pieces; there's no way you restore a spark unless the guy has a head."

"Well…" Mason coughed, embarrassed, "That's not entirely true…"

"What?" Lennox asked angrily, "What do you mean? Are the Decepticons in Hangar 18 in pieces or not?"

"That's need-to-know. Colonel Lennox, you'd best get your men together. Blazemaster, as you are next in the Autobot chain-of-command, get every available 'bot to Hangar 18 through the Pillars; we need to make that place a fortress."

"No."

Mason turned at that, looking up at Blazemaster.

"As Director of NEST, you are ordered to teleport to Hangar 18 and hold it down."

"No human orders us around," Blazemaster frowned, "Optimus is in command; he tells us what to do."

Mason roared, "YOU ARE DISOBEYING A DIRECT ORDER! I COULD HAVE YOU SHOT OFF THIS PLANET INTO THE MOON IF I WANTED!"

"You can shout all you like General," Blazemaster said with spite, "But Optimus has lead us this far and I'm all for waiting until he recovers. I'm not letting a tiny organic who wears tin on his chest tell me what to do. Also, I'm up here and you're down there; you can't make me do scrap."

Mason turned red with fury. He looked like he was about to explode, to shout Area 51 down to the ground. But thirty years of military discipline forced him back to the two best things that worked against machines; threats and logic.

"You are guests," he muttered with rage, "Upon our planet; Earth. But despite that fact, you treat it as your home; Optimus treats it like home. And it was on Optimus's wish that you machines remain to fight the Decepticons, because you have led them here. In all honesty, this war doesn't concern us; it's the Autobots and the Decepticons. And right now, the Decepticons could be returning and if you do not follow my orders, you will be fighting them alone, with or without Optimus. So think about this carefully—do you wish to fight the Decepticons with, or without our help?"

Blazemaster returned the furious stare. The room was deathly silent.

Finally, after what seemed an age of silence, Blazemaster spoke.

"I'll start the calibrations…" he muttered, turning to head back to the teleportation chamber.

"Now," Mason said, turning to Lennox without showing a hint of emotion, "What units are heading there?"

"Lieutenant Ramirez and three squads are on their way now sir."

"They won't be enough; get Nellis on the line and get as much air support as possible over there. I want enough air power to raze Hangar 18 to the ground."

* * *

><p>"It seems the insects have their trophy room," Flatline noted dryly.<p>

The big four were held up by chains stretching to the roof, while the dozens of minor ones littered the floor around them. Scientists fled before the towering titans.

"How disgusting," Thundercracker spat, blasting several humans as they ran, "They string up our kind like animals!"

"Then let us return them to their former glory."

Flatline held the Matrix out for Thundercracker. The air commander took it, before looking up at the corpses of Megatron, Starscream, Shockwave and Soundwave. They looked down, immobile.

"And what is worse, they put their bodies back together, just to study their remains."

"Thundercracker, I hear human vehicles coming towards us. We need to hurry."

"They should have been left to rust in peace…"

Flatline was annoyed now. "We will have our revenge. But for now, you resurrect them and I'll wipe out the humans."

As Flatline made his leave, Thundercracker peered up at the four Decepticon leaders in suspended animation.

_Now… who first?_

* * *

><p>"<em>Lieutenant Ramirez, air support is on the way."<em>

"Roger that sir," Ramirez replied, before turning in the passenger seat to look at the troops in the truck. They were all young, nervous faces.

In the battle of Chicago, they had lost a lot of men. They had quickly filled up the cracks with soldiers from the Navy SEALs, Delta Force, the disbanded Sector 7, Britain's SAS and the French Foreign Legion. Despite the vast array of elite soldiers, none of newbies had ever faced off against a Decepticon. Only Ramirez had: in Philadelphia when Shockwave had tricked both sides before wiping out NEST HQ, and also in Chicago, where he had helped take down the Decepticon Barricade. And now… all the Decepticons once laid to rest could be returning.

"So… you guys new?"

Most of the men nodded. The rest kept silent.

"Well, for all we know, there aren't going to be any Decepticons there," Ramirez said, not believing it, "They could have taken the Matrix somewhere else. But if they are there, then either of two things will happen:

"One, if we arrive on time, we'll be facing probably a maximum of three Decepticons, hopefully all weak. Remember your training and bring them down. Two, those weak Decepticons might have resurrected Megatron and the rest. If that's the case, we fall back in the vehicles until air support arrives."

"Uh, sir?" one of the soldiers asked, "I heard that Megatron is over thirty feet tall."

Several angry pairs of eyes gazed at the trooper.

"No, he's right," Ramirez gritted his teeth, knowing the truth had to be told, "Megatron is huge. But he's also not the biggest or the worst."

"Then who is?"

Ramirez cast his memory back to the days before Chicago, not liking this conversation.

"Ironhide once said this: 'In times of war, beware Megatron. In times of peace, beware Soundwave. In times of flight, beware Starscream. And in times of battle…

"Beware Shockwave."

* * *

><p>"I cannot stand him!"<p>

Stacy was in the teleportation room, listening to Blazemaster rant while he worked on the Pillar calibrations.

"He's just an arrogant earthling, who believes he can order around those who aren't under his command!"

"But you are under his command, aren't you?" Stacy quizzed, "You're part of NEST."

"Only in name; it might read as a joint Autobot-human taskforce, but really, the humans are under the command of the humans and the Autobots are under the command of Optimus."

"So you work independently?"

"I wish," Blazemaster huffed, "We only work together because Optimus and Lennox are brothers in arms. The colonel might be the only good human in NEST. No offense," he apologised to Stacy.

"None taken. If my planet was destroyed and I was forced to flee from guys like the Decepticons, I wouldn't trust a planet filled with tiny people."

"Yeah… but really it was the Nefarious incident…"

"Nefarious?" Stacy asked innocently.

"Well, I shouldn't really tell you about it…"

"If I ever leaked it out, Mason would be very angry," Stacy agreed.

"In that case, Nefarious was probably the biggest failure of NEST, _ever_. At least in Chicago we finally came out on top, but Nefarious was all the Decepticons."

"What happened?" Stacy asked. She had never heard of the 'Nefarious incident'.

"Well, I wasn't there for most of it, but I was debriefed later. I was kind of weirded out though… never mind; Nefarious. After the Fallen's defeat in Egypt, Megatron and the few remaining Decepticons beat a hasty retreat into the dense African jungle. Except one…"

"Soundwave watched us. No-one knew where he was or where he had been, but one day, he came out of the blue and killed an Autobot by the name of Breakaway. He was investigating sightings of a cybertronian animal in a ruined Florida chemical plant at the time, when all of a sudden, humans came in and started cleaning up the area. The Autobots quickly moved out, but by the time they got there, Soundwave and the humans had escaped and Breakaway was scattered all over the debris.

"It turned out later that the humans were an incredibly rich and influential organisation called the Initiative, run by the powerful and mad Carter Newell. Because of an incident during his childhood involving the ancient Seekers, he had hated and hunted us for nigh on a hundred years. Even Soundwave was beaten by the Initiative. Eventually, Optimus Prime made a deal with Soundwave in order to help beat the Initiative, which, eventually, they did successfully.

"But as it turned out, the Initiative had one last trick up their sleeve; actual Transformers themselves. Autobots and Decepticons who had found their way to Earth, only to be captured by the Initiative before they could reach the proper governments. I was among them. They… they had done something to my brain… I remember fighting Optimus… and then I woke up, as if from a dream. Suffice to say, I was angry, and I killed Carter."

Blazemaster looked at Stacy, realising this might have caused upset. But instead of looking horrified or sick, she looked sympathetic.

"Is that why you hate humans so much?" she asked.

Blazemaster shifted uncomfortably. "I don't hate humans; I just understand that, like cybertronians, there are good ones and bad ones. And when there are so many of you, and when you're that tiny, it's hard to see the difference."

"I understand… and there are probably more bad people out there than good people."

"But," Blazemaster said, waving away his old anger, "That's not what I wanted to talk about. When Optimus decided to work with Soundwave, he did something that even I would not suspect; he did it without consulting NEST."

"So he didn't tell Colonel Lennox?" Stacy asked, surprised, "Why not?"

"We cybertronians realised that something big was going to happen, and there was no time to go through all the red tape; Soundwave was a master of intelligence and we needed him. In the end, he did assist up until the final battle, when he disappeared without a trace, leaving the Initiative's databanks picked clean. But we won anyway. But Nefarious proved something; never trust a human."

"And what about me?"

Blazemaster shifted uncomfortably. "You are different; you are young. You shouldn't yet be at an age when lying would help you. You must take pride in the innocence of your youth, because if you remain with us, your youth could end very fast."

"I've seen death before," Stacy said, "I know what it's like to lose someone close to you. And I won't let it happen again!"

"At least your spark's in the right place… but the Decepticons won't care for what you promise. They are cold-hearted, remorseless, power-hungry killing machines. And they do not care for the innocent or the young."

"I know it will be dangerous!" Stacy almost shouted, strength filling her voice, "But… how long do you guys live?"

"Us? Approximately… 20,000 earth years."

"Exactly," Stacy said, her voice sure of purpose and will, "I'll be lucky to live 100. I don't have a lot of time on this Earth, so why waste it alongside all the other 'insects'? I have no family, my only true friend is within these walls, no past in the orphanage and no future in the sewers; being alongside you guys looks like the only way to fully live my life."

"But what do you hope for?" Blazemaster asked, now fascinated with this earthling, "What do you believe is the purpose for your life?"

"…Do you wish to continue this war?" Stacy asked, "Because I will do all in my power to help end it."

"You are small, your life short and you are in no position of influence or wealth; what power do you have?"

Stacy looked up at Blazemaster, steel in her eyes. "I have a heart and a brain; no matter who you are or where you are born, those things are all you need to accomplish anything. You just need to know how to use them. And I've lasted this long on my own."

Blazemaster stared down at the most impressive insect he had ever seen. And she probably didn't even know how to wield a rifle.

He bent down on one knee before holding out his hand. Her tiny fist shook the tip of his finger.

"Welcome to NEST."

* * *

><p>"<em>Hangar 18, coming up!" <em>roared the sergeant in the vehicle at the front.

"Alright men," Ramirez told the nervous soldiers, "Remember your training; headshots and rounds beneath the chest, just remember; keep moving!

"Do you see any Transformers up there?" Ramirez called into the mic.

"_Negative sir! But… shit, the guards are dead and the guard towers have been razed. Looks like we're about to ride right into the middle!"_

"Lock and load!" Ramirez called to the back of the truck.

"_WHAT THE FU—"_

All of a sudden, the vehicle in front was split in half lengthways by a red laser. The two halves promptly exploded.

"Oh shit," Ramirez muttered.

And then a red laser cut through his vehicle as well and everything went black.

* * *

><p><em>Why do we exist?<em>

_Is there more to us than this?_

_Why am I alive?_

"**What a treat, you and me **_**alone!"**_

_The boy…_

"**INSECT SCUM!"**

_Blind…_

"**I'll kill you…"**

_Death!_

"_Lord Starscream…" _said a faraway voice.

_They will all perish! The insect boy, Megatron, Optimus, Dreadwing, Wreckage…!_

"LORD STARSCREAM!"

He saw the steel floor. The air touched his face.

He felt his muscles move. He stretched his fingers.

He felt the loose pieces of his body spring together.

"Lord Starscream… you're alive, you function—"

"WANNA BET?" Starscream roared and leapt upwards, blades springing to his left hand, clutching Thundercracker's throat. The Decepticon air commander was brought low, his lord holding blades just inches from his face.

"WHERE'S DREADWING? WHERE IS THAT TRAITOR?"

"L-Lord Starscream… you killed Dreadwing long ago. I'm Thundercracker…"

Starscream looked down at the nervous face of one of his soldiers.

"W-Wreckage?"

"Wreckage is dead also… don't you remember?"

"W-W… Wit…"

Starscream got to his feet, his face frowning with concentration. Thundercracker wearily got up as well, watching his lord.

"Witwi…"

"Sir?"

"THE BOY!" Starscream shouted, "WHAT WAS HIS NAME?"

"The boy?" Thundercracker asked, confused, "What boy?"

"His name…" Starscream clutched his head, trying to remember.

"…Sir?"

"WITWICKY!" Starscream roared triumphantly, "That insect… he blinded and beheaded me! Where is… wait… I'm alive?"

Thundercracker stood straight and held out the Matrix of Leadership in hand.

"Sir, me and the Decepticon medic Flatline managed to retrieve the Matrix from Optimus Prime. Stealing it, we arrived here at an insect base and have now resurrected you."

"Resurrected?" Starscream wondered, "But where is Mega—"

Starscream turned around to see Megatron's suspended corpse glowering at him. He almost jumped out of his skin. He gaze turned to the other Decepticons, slowly identifying them, piecing his memory back together. Thundercracker waited patiently, the Matrix still outstretched.

When Starscream had finished his tour of the dead, he peered up close, inspecting his once mighty leader.

"So… we lost?"

"Sorry to say sir, but yes. All the Decepticons were killed."

"Where is Sentinel?"

"The treacherous Prime? Although we're not sure, we believe Optimus ordered his body incinerated; he would not have a Prime hung out for inspection, even a traitor."

"So… I am in command?"

"Yes sir."

"You chose to resurrect me first?"

"Yes sir."

"What forces do we have?"

"Although there are probably some more scattered across the planet, the Decepticon army consists of me, you, Flatline and a Seeker I left on the moon."

Starscream gazed into Megatron's lifeless eyes.

"Yet again, you fail us all Megatron. Yet again, you lie dead for the insects to pick your bones clean. Yet again, the Decepticons have lost under your leadership."

"Sir, we should be done here quickly; the Autobots are no doubt on their way."

Starscream turned to Thundercracker, his eyes glowing with appreciation. He approached his air commander and took the Matrix from his hand. He studied it, feeling the energy from it flowing through his skin.

"Commander Thundercracker?" Starscream asked, still studying the Matrix.

"Yes sir."

"You have served me loyally throughout these many meta-cycles, never leaving my side and fighting with me throughout the hardest of crusades. And now, you have even resurrected me at the hour of Decepticon need. You will be greatly rewarded when the Autobots are eventually wiped out."

"Thank you sir," Thundercracker replied, almost glowing with pride.

"But for now," Starscream said, turning back to the corpses and giving the Matrix back to Thundercracker, "Bring them all back to life. Megatron first."

"P-Pardon sir?"

"We cannot win with the forces we have. And the only other Decepticons, aside from me, who could fight the Autobots and win are the three suspended above us. And none of them would follow me. So, for now, we will return them all to life and help them with the victories to follow. And when the time is right… _our _rule will begin."

"Sir, when the time comes, I can vouch for Flatline and Skywarp to assist you in your battles."

"Excellent. No doubt we will find other Seekers as time passes, and they will rally to our call."

Thundercracker took the Matrix back and went over to Megatron's corpse.

"Although for the time being Thundercracker," Starscream told him, "I survived the battle at the insect city. Understand?"

As Thundercracker prepared to push the Matrix into Megatron's chest, he replied.

"Of course, Lord Starscream."

* * *

><p>Optimus awoke and cried out.<p>

Ratchet immediately ran to his side.

"Optimus! Your chest is healed and—"

"Quickly!" Optimus cried, "We-we need to get to Hangar 18, now!"

"Blazemaster's almost finished the calibrations, but you're in no condition to fight—"

"We have no time! The humans won't be able to win…"

"The Wreckers can't move from their positon in the Middle East but the earthlings have sent jets to the hangar; they will be there in around ten minutes."

"They will not be enough," Optimus said, before getting off the table, much to Ratchet's chagrin, "We need to go, now!"

"We will never make it Optimus," Ratchet warned, "The Pillars are not ready—"

"Optimus!" Arcee cried, rushing into the room, "Blazemaster's finished the calibrations!"

Optimus looked at Ratchet. The medic sighed.

"I will hold the fort," he told Optimus, "In case the 'cons try anything. You go and kill Megatron again."

* * *

><p>"W-Where am I?"<p>

"Lord Megatron, I have awakened you."

"Starscream? Where are we?"

"You, along with Soundwave and Shockwave, were killed in the insect nest with Sentinel Prime. I escaped though, and stole the Matrix from Optimus! I have resurrected you, Lord Megatron—"

"Prime will pay."

"He comes to us, my lord. He will arrive with his foolish Autobots and attempt to finish us off for good!"

"Then we must resurrect the others… we must prepare for war…"

As Megatron walked towards the exit of the hangar and Thundercracker continued his resurrection spree, Starscream mused to himself.

"The death on all sides is becoming a way of life…"

* * *

><p>Ramirez awoke to find a scorpion on his face.<p>

The arachnid climbed across his face, the stinger poised, the claws clicking.

Fast as lightning, Ramirez drew the blade from his waist and sliced the bug in half, sending the two parts spinning away. He sat up, breathing hard.

He was in the Nevada desert, close to the compound that held Hangar 18. Gazing around, he saw the burnt corpses and the wreckage of his command. They were all dead, except him. He had somehow managed to escape the explosion with relatively little injuries. He looked to his left—

—to find Flatline sitting beside him, staring down at the lieutenant.

Ramirez fell over in shock, staring up at the mad doctor. His face was a mask of terror, knowing there was nowhere he could run that the Decepticon couldn't crush him beforehand.

He stared up in fear as Flatline looked down with glee.

"It's a shame you're so small," Flatline grinned, "Because I would love to see what you would look like inside out."

Ramirez was breathing harder.

"I don't have the equipment for such microscopic surgery, but there will be a time. Until then, I must ask; why did you kill that arachnid?"

Ramirez remained silent. A blade appeared in Flatline's hand.

"Here's another question; would you like to die quickly or slowly?"

"I killed the scorpion because it was going to kill me," Ramirez answered, "It was a survival instinct."

"Ah, but look at me. You know I'm going to kill you, so why don't you use your survival instinct to escape?"

"Because I realise there is no way to escape death this time."

"So it depends on the threat that your survival instinct works? Hmm… you insects are more interesting than you look."

Ramirez looked up at the insane Decepticon. Slowly but surely, he reached for his armour-piercing rifle.

"Tell me insect," Flatline asked, "Are you a religious man?"

"Yes," Ramirez answered truefully, trying to reach for the cross at his neck, but found that it had been torn off in the explosion.

"Then where is your God to save you? Where is his divine protection?"

Ramirez knew the Decepticon was enjoying this. He grabbed the rifle in one hand.

"He will reward me in Heaven."

"For doing what? Dying at the hands of the _real _Gods?"

"Ah," Ramirez realised, "You think yourselves Gods compared to us."

"Oh, but I am," Flatline grinned savagely, "Don't you get it? You're just tiny players in the game of the cosmos."

"Oh yeah? Well in the grand game of the cosmos…"

Ramirez swiftly pointed the rifle up and fired.

"Size means nothing."

The bullet smashed through one of Flatline's optics, causing the medic to scream in pain. Ramirez dropped the rifle and ran, dodging past wreckage and bodies, leaping across the dunes.

But a hand quickly scooped him up.

He found himself face-to-face with Flatline.

"You impudent little…!" Flatline cried.

"I am not impudent!" Ramirez roared, "I am a human! And you are no God, for you will have to fight for every inch of this planet, bitch!"

"You should have known, _human_," Flatline drawled malevolently, "That size matters."

But as he ground the lieutenant to paste in his hand, he pondered Ramirez's words.

_You are no God…_

* * *

><p>"Can we come?" Marcus shouted up.<p>

Optimus Prime looked down at the child, his mouth a tight smile.

"The battlefield is no place for the young; you would only impede us and die. And these are the most horrifying of all the enemies humanity will have to face. So no, you can't come."

Although Marcus put on a dejected face, he realised the truth in the Autobot's words.

"_Let the bastard rust,_" Marcus whispered.

"Pardon?" Optimus asked.

"Huh, what?" Marcus looked up at Optimus, as if waking from sleep.

Optimus looked quizzically at Marcus before turning to join the Autobots that waited round the Pillar. They looked nervous, but eager to fight the last battle. Optimus turned to them all.

"This is it; the final battle. We will no longer be destined to live in fear and have the Decepticons follow us from the grave. We will beat them here and now. The misery must end and so must Megatron's threat to us all! So now we fight: We will fight for freedom, we will fight for what is right and we will fight for victory in this last battle!"

The Autobots cried their support before they ran into the field of blue light.

"This is the end," Mason said grimly.

"No," Ryder spoke as he ground a cigarette underfoot, "This is only the beginning."

* * *

><p>High above the world, the sadistic Skywarp watched Hangar 18 from the <em>Ark<em>.

On the other side of the planet, Space Case snored deeply and Ruination smacked him awake.

In Nigeria, Payload and Dropkick intercepted news reports from Nevada.

And in Hangar 18, red eyes glowed with malice.

Across the planet, the Decepticons gathered.

* * *

><p>Optimus Prime and the Autobots stood in a line, facing the hangar. Optimus, Mirage, Sideswipe, the sisters, Blazemaster and the twins faced Hangar 18.<p>

In front of Hangar 18 stood the Decepticons.

Megatron, a metal deity of unbelievable strength and power, who struck fear into the hearts and sparks across the galaxy, faced Optimus with a smile. Beside him, crouching in his shadow, was Starscream, the air commander who had survived through nearly every battle on Earth, always escaping to find another way to ruin the lives of others. To Megatron's left stood the creeping figure and unmatched cunning of Soundwave, his most loyal soldier and the one who had orchestrated entire operations from his position beyond the sky. And behind them, standing tall over the weaker Decepticons and even Megatron himself, stood his enforcer and assassin, Shockwave. There was not a living creature in existence as powerful or as menacing as Shockwave, a creature who lived to kill, who would destroy the world and everything upon it at a whim, who had ended the lives of no less than Elita-One, Knock-Out, Salvage, Longarm, Jolt, Dune Runner and countless others.

These four were surrounded by even more Decepticons.

"Megatron."

"Prime!"

"It ends here, Megatron."

"Oh no Prime," Megatron laughed, "It's only just beginning! Don't you see?"

He held out the Matrix. Optimus frowned.

Megatron dropped the Matrix, before grinding it underfoot. It was smashed into pieces.

The leader of the Decepticons laughed. "Now there will be no more second chances, no more rising from the grave; whoever dies this today, stays dead!"

"Then let the reign of terror and evil end!" Optimus roared.

They stared each other down.

The Autobots and the Decepticons.

And then they charged.

* * *

><p>The final part of the opening four parter is up tomorrow; then the real shit happens!<p>

Please read & review!


	4. Good Mourning Part 4

Episode 4: Good Mourning (Part 4)

_Welcome to our fortress tall  
>Take some time to show you around<br>Impossible to break these walls  
>For you see the steel is much too strong…<em>

—**Hangar 18**

* * *

><p>Stacy bit her nails. They had almost been worn down to the skin.<p>

"I hope they make it."

"They will," Marcus assured, "Optimus has beat Megatron, what, three times before?"

"But us humans had always assisted in one way or another; the air force won't be there for another five minutes!"

Marcus laughed. "I think the Autobots can hold the Decepticons for five minutes."

"Actually," Ryder said, leaning against a wall, sunglasses staring at the floor, "It only takes one second."

"And who asked you?" Marcus said defensively, "The Autobots will win."

Ryder shrugged.

Marcus looked around the cavernous space of Area 51. It was larger than Hangar 18, despite being a hundred feet underground. The only access point was a system of two large funiculars that could carry a hundred people or a couple of small Autobots out onto a discreet Nevada parking lot in the middle of the desert. The cavernous space held rows of computer banks, large areas for the Autobots, a command structure where General Mason had his office and a communication tower for information collection and retrieval. The tower was the nerve centre for the whole of NEST, where a large hologram of the Earth floated in a large room; it would quickly alert the whole base to any unknown Energon signals across the globe.

"Don't worry," Marcus told Stacy, "We will always come out on top, because we're the good guys!"

Stacy stood eerily silent at that.

She spoke. "Damien Jones was a good guy. He…"

"Huh, who?" Marcus quizzed, but his attention was quickly grabbed by the arrival of General Mason. Gerin was also there, shouting at the general as he walked towards them.

"General," Ratchet acknowledged from above them, "What's going on?"

Gerin, exasperated, looked around at them all.

"I'm s-sorry," she said, almost tearfully.

"What's going on?" Marcus asked, fear on his face.

Mason looked at them all smugly.

"NEST is being disbanded."

* * *

><p>Megatron swung a hook that smashed Optimus in the face, sending splinters of his cheek-armour across the compound.<p>

Battle was joined across the area, as an evening sun looked down over them. It was red.

Sideswipe slashed at Soundwave, but the Decepticon intelligence master swiftly dodged and backhanded Sideswipe. Mirage leapt up at Shockwave, the huge Decepticon lumbering too late as the Autobot slashed at his face. Shockwave roared and kicked Mirage away.

Mudflap and Skids duelled with Starscream, the air commander using his speed and bigger size to outmanoeuvre the two scrappy Autobots. They fired their lasers into the air, trying to blast Starscream out of the sky. He roared and shot downwards towards them.

And while Arcee and Chromia fought the larger Thundercracker and Flatline, Blazemaster battled the minor Decepticons; two flyers by the names of Skystalker and Fearswoop repeatedly shot at him, while attempts at going to ground were blocked by several Constructicons and the Dreads.

The Autobots were outnumbered. But not outgunned.

Optimus slashed with his keyblade, causing Megatron to roar with pain as a long scar travelled down his chest. Mirage cut along Shockwave's AstroMag cannon, causing it to malfunction and fail. He roared again and threw Mirage at Sideswipe, knocking them both down.

Meanwhile, Starscream was facing increased resistance from the twins.

He roared as Skids scored a damaging blow, destroying his left hand. Mudflap cried his support.

"Dat's how you do it Skids—"

And then Mudflap screamed and exploded.

Soundwave stood behind him, his sonic cannon in hand, barrel still smoking. Mudflap's corpse fell to the ground.

Skids turned at his brother's cry and roared.

"NOOO!" He ran at Soundwave, guns blazing…

…Only for a missile to slam into him. Starscream had shot him in the back.

He fell to the ground, the gold tooth flying out of his mouth. He looked to the sky.

Soundwave blocked his view. His sonic cannon fired.

The twins were erased from the Earth.

* * *

><p>Optimus and the other Autobots struggled on, but began to fall back.<p>

"The twins are dead!" Arcee called as she leapt back from Thundercracker.

Optimus cursed as he beheaded a minor Decepticon. "Their sacrifice will not be forgotten, but we must continue to hold them! We need human support!"

"Where are they?" Blazemaster cried as he killed a Decepticon flyer, "We need them now!"

They continuously fought a backwards retreat. The Decepticons pushed hard, the ground in front of the Autobots exploding. The Decepticons began to overwhelm them.

And then suddenly, they stopped. Their weapons withdrew into them, and their blades disappeared. They began to move back.

Megatron made his way to the front.

"Prime! This is between us," he called, mockingly, "You have failed… your Autobots will die and no insects return to help you fight! The very creatures you protect, leave you at your final battle…"

"Megatron, what chance do you have?" Optimus called, bluffing, "If we all die, where does that leave you and your twenty Decepticons? I will tell you; on a planet packed to the brim with angry humans."

"We would wipe them all out!" Megatron roared, "Starting with your little pet, the boy!"

Optimus gritted his teeth, remembering how Sam had bested Megatron all those years ago in Mission City… and with the destruction of the Allspark, doomed the cybertronian race.

Optimus readied his blades. "I will not let you take another life!"

Megatron grinned like a rabid dog. "Ah, the irony Prime; if you had accepted my offer of a ceasefire on that bridge, you wouldn't be in this position, about to die!"

Optimus frowned again, anger rushing through him.

"The last Prime," Megatron spoke with relish as readied his arm-blade, "Oh, what a pleasure to end you at last, you who I called brother!"

Optimus roared as Megatron charged.

Their blades met under the watchful gaze of the Autobots, Decepticons and the blood-red sky.

* * *

><p>"We're two minutes out!" the pilot called back into the helicopter.<p>

Dozens of helicopters flew over Nevada as military jets shot ahead.

"Alright guys!" Lennox called, "This is it; this could be the final battle for NEST! If we destroy the last Decepticons, then Earth is safe!"

The men checked their parachutes and weapons, ready for the battle at Hangar 18.

"Remember; their steel will never be as strong as our hearts! We will fight Megatron and his troops, and we will rid them from Earth forever!"

The helicopters flew through the red sky, the desert stretching beneath them.

* * *

><p>Optimus was knocked to the floor again, Megatron circling. The Decepticons cheered.<p>

_It's__ times like this, _he thought, _I wish we had repaired the flight-tech._

Megatron ran up to punt Optimus in the skull, but the leader of the Autobots caught the foot and tripped Megatron. With an axe in hand, Optimus charged, only for Megatron to leap up again and tackle the Prime. They grappled like wrestlers, trying to throw one another to the ground, to gain superiority in this fight to the death. Megatron threw a short punch to crack Optimus's skull, while Optimus landed a heavy fist to the Decepticon's abdomen. They roared with pain and broke off.

They stared each other down.

The crowds cheered their respective sides.

"So…" Megatron muttered through the pain, "Is this where our legacy ends? Where our eternal struggle is finally laid to rest? On a planet, far from home, where no-one will mourn our passing…?"

Optimus breathed hard, the air floating down into his spark, keeping it light in his body so as to help him fight better.

"I'd rather it here, brother, then on our planet under your tyrannical rule."

"Foolish Optimus, you don't understand," Megatron growled, "It was never about me… was it I who flung the Allspark into space? Was it I who destroyed the Solar Harvester? Was it I who destroyed Cybertron? Every action you have taken, you have further doomed our race, while keeping the humans alive. Is that the action of a Prime?"

"It is the action of one who fights for the weak!" Optimus roared and charged again.

Their blades clashed once again.

"Fool!" Megatron snarled, "You still don't understand! Do not believe that fighting for the weak, will make the weak fight for you!"

"I do not ask anything from them!" Optimus cried and slashed again, forcing Megatron back.

"One day Optimus, they will show you their true colours; they are no better than me!"

They spun and feinted, blades meeting in the dusk.

Megatron continued. "You think your future looks so bright… but it will simply be crushed underfoot by the insect horde!"

"I BELIEVE IN THEM!" Optimus roared.

Megatron pulled a feint, before stabbing Optimus in the leg. The leader of the Autobots gasped in pain and fell back a little. Starscream and others roared their support. Soundwave chuckled slightly. Shockwave was silent, slowly repairing his cannon, keeping his eye on the battle.

Megatron panted hard. "Optimus, I will give you this one chance; leave this planet with your Autobots and find a new home among the stars. We will have Earth and you needn't ever remember the creatures that lived upon it!"

Optimus hesitated. And actually shocked himself when he realised he considered the offer.

_You can try to shape and mould these humans so that they won't repeat our mistakes… but they scheme and plan, pretend and trick… and when all the Decepticons are laid to rest, what will become of you? Nothing… absolutely nothing…_

"No…" Optimus whispered. "NO!" he then cried, "You are the evil Megatron! These humans may never thank me, they may even forget me, but I will never let you destroy them! You are in the wrong, and I do not doubt this for even a second! I will not let one innocent suffer from my choices!"

"FINE THEN!" Megatron roared and charged again.

As they clashed once again, thunder rolled through the sky.

Missiles streamed into the Decepticon ranks, exploding into the evening.

A mix of F-35s and F-15s flew above them, as the Decepticons roared in pain or got to their feet.

"Seekers!" Starscream cried, "Rally to me!"

He launched into the air, after the human jets, his airborne soldiers following.

"CHARGE!" Arcee roared, and the Autobots flung themselves at the disorganised Decepticon ranks.

As the Decepticons began to fall back under the Autobot advance, helicopters appeared in the sky, parachutes spiralling down.

Optimus Prime and Megatron continued their duel in the middle, Optimus swinging his axe like a mad-man, while Megatron tried to raise his arm blaster high enough to hit Optimus. But the Autobot wasn't giving an inch, leaping at Megatron with fire in his eyes and fury in his axe.

"You will not win…" Megatron panted hard.

"Your kind will never stand victorious!" Optimus returned as he batted away Megatron's scatter blaster, "You never have, and you never will!"

An F-15 smashed into the ground near them, throwing up dirt and fire, causing both combatants to duck down. They returned to their feet with a thunderous clash of blades.

Meanwhile, an Osprey was shot out of the sky by Shockwave, while Soundwave blew the Autobots back with his sonic cannons. Above them, Starscream leapt from plane to plane, tearing them apart with talons and circular-saw.

"They're still in the fight!" Sideswipe cried, ducking a shot from Shockwave, "We need to concentrate on one!"

"TAKE SHOCKWAVE!" Mirage roared, spinning through the air like a ninja, slicing his arm blades across Shockwave's chest.

Arcee and Chromia turned their weapons on the huge Decepticon, the lasers and missiles smashing apart his chest armour. Sideswipe threw a blade at his head, only for the Decepticon to catch it with his hand and crush it.

"Uh oh," Sideswipe muttered.

Shockwave sent a powerful shot from his arm cannon into the ground in-between them. The resulting explosion sent the Autobots sprawling, smashing into the ground, their weapons disappearing into the ash and dust.

Soundwave leapt on top of Sideswipe, peering down with malevolent eyes.

"Allow me," Soundwave spoke in a tone that reflected the darkness inside of him, "To introduce myself; the last thing you will ever see."

He raised the sonic cannon.

And was knocked back by an explosion.

Blazemaster, in his Hind form, flew over Sideswipe. Sideswipe silently thanked him, before chasing after Soundwave.

* * *

><p>Thundercracker split a Chinook in half that flew too low, before turning to Flatline.<p>

"Get Skywarp!" he roared, "Beam us up!"

"B-But Lord Megatron might—"

"None of us will survive unless we get out of here!" Thundercracker shouted back, "GET SKYWARP!"

As the half-blind Flatline fell back to call the Seeker on the moon, Thundercracker turned to fight the humans landing—

—Only to have Arcee and Chromia charge with blades and blasters.

"You will not escape—" Arcee began.

"—this time, Thundercracker!" Chromia finished.

The sisters charged low, slicing at Thundercracker's legs, trying to bring the massive Decepticon to his knees, so as to blast him in the face or behead him. But Thundercracker leapt back, swinging his axe down, trying to catch the agile Autobots.

"It's times like these that I wish—" Chromia cried.

"—the Wreckers weren't on the other side of the planet!" Arcee responded.

"Die, damn you!" Thundercracker roared, blasting the ground around them.

Arcee leapt upwards, slashing Thundercracker across the face. He roared with pain as one of his optics was smashed.

As Thundercracker was pushed back, the sisters doubled their assault.

"Your monstrous deeds will be done and dusted!" Arcee and Chromia cried in unison.

"Monstrous?" Thundercracker laughed through the pain, "Oh, I'm no monster; you two are!"

As Thundercracker fell to his knees with pain, Arcee pointed her blaster at his head.

"What?" she asked plainly.

"You are not the Arcee from Mars; you are an abomination! Created in a lab, birthed by science, a monster that came back to battle its own creator! It's a shame Elita isn't alive to see this; I would have liked to laugh at all of you."

Arcee's face contorted in anger, but just before she pulled the trigger, Thundercracker turned a deeper shade of blue. He smiled maliciously, just as a faraway pillar teleported him away from the battle.

Flatline leapt in front of the stunned sisters, knocking them down.

"It's a shame I can't take you with me," Flatline grinned as he turned blue, "For I would like to experiment on your bodies even further…"

He disappeared in another flash of blue light.

As the sisters anger burned through them, they watched as Decepticons all around them disappeared in flashes of light.

Arcee spat on the ground. "They're getting away!"

Chromia put her hand round her sister's shoulder.

"You never look on the bright side; we've won!"

"No… we've lost, because we've failed to kill them."

* * *

><p>An F-35 shot him out of the sky.<p>

Starscream cried out as he fell thousands of feet.

"Impudent worm!"

But just before he smashed to the ground in a burning pile of debris and ruin, he vanished in a flash of blue light.

* * *

><p>Mirage held the blade to Soundwave's throat.<p>

"Your life ends here—"

Soundwave turned blue and disappeared.

"—maybe not."

* * *

><p>Shockwave blasted another chopper into blazing wreckage.<p>

"Bring him down!" Lennox roared, aiming his modified Stryker cannon at Shockwave's head.

All of a sudden, the Decepticon was blue.

"Oh crap…"

Shockwave inspected his new colour. He roared in anger at what was about to happen.

He also vanished in a blue light.

* * *

><p>Optimus and Megatron broke off yet again.<p>

They stared at each other, both on the verge of collapsing.

Megatron was illuminated blue.

He looked at himself. His smile grew.

"It seems Prime," he spoke slowly, "Our battle is just beginning."

"No…" Optimus gasped, too tired to go after him.

"I know not when we next meet Optimus," Megatron growled, "But I assure you… it will be the last time."

He disappeared.

Optimus fell to his knees. He looked up at the sky.

The stars shone down on him.

_I have failed…_

He let the glare of the moon wash over him.

* * *

><p><em>An hour later…<em>

"So… this is my new citadel?" Megatron asked, staring around.

The Decepticons stood in the large corridors of the _Ark_, on the moon. The ancient ship that had carried Sentinel Prime and his Pillars across the stars had crashed here; and now its contents were scattered on the planet below.

"I am sorry, Lord Megatron," said Skywarp, one of the only Decepticons to survive the destruction of Cybertron, "But I'm afraid I cannot offer better establishments than this."

"It will do," Megatron nodded. He made his way to the captain's chair. He sat upon it, staring out a glassless window at Earth below.

Starscream launched himself onto a support above Megatron, perching like a vulture.

"We live to serve you, Lord Megatron," the sycophant acted, putting as much devotion into his voice as he could muster.

Soundwave crept out of the shadows, gazing at his leader with cunning optics.

"With our lives," he intoned darkly.

Shockwave thudded towards the captain's chair. Each step was like a thunderclap.

"Who do I kill?" he asked malevolently, his voice as dark as a starless night.

"Patience Shockwave," Megatron smiled.

"For our time will come. We are alive… and we have learned a lesson we will not forget. No longer will we attack with brute force, nor with ambitions of conquest; those plans will have to wait. For now, we must launch strikes from our base above their world. We must reclaim the Pillars that are scattered around the world; we can use the abundant supply of energon within each one to fuel our plans for victory. So for now, we must truly be Decepticons, and destroy Optimus and the humans through our cunning and power.

"So, my brothers, we will win this war… and we will do it from the dark of the moon."

* * *

><p>An injured Optimus and his comrades came out through a flash of blue light. Despite the pain, they were talking quickly.<p>

"How many?" he asked.

"Only five sir," Blazemaster answered, "Only five Decepticons killed at Hangar 18; and none of them were big'uns."

"So our war must resume—"

"Optimus!"

The Prime turned at the small voice.

Marcus and Stacy ran up to him. They were almost in tears.

"Optimus!" Marcus cried again, "They're-They're…"

"They are going to…" but Stacy couldn't say it.

"NEST is being disbanded," Gerin sighed sadly, as she came from the command structure.

"But—" Optimus couldn't believe it. _Disbanding NEST? But why? And for what purpose?_

"That's right," came Mason's voice from above them, a smug little smile on his face, "NEST is dead. There is no longer a Non-biological Extra-terrestrial Species Treaty."

"You can't do this!" Mirage cried, "The Decepticons have just returned! NEST is needed now more than ever!"

"Patience Mirage," a wounded Optimus spoke, "There must be an explanation for this… and why General Mason appears so amused."

"I am amused, Optimus Prime, because I am happy," Mason said, "For the President has seen NEST as too… unsatisfactory. Whenever Chicago is mentioned, the word NEST is held in particularly low esteem. He has decided to reorganise the Autobot/Human relationship. So NEST is not being destroyed, but rather… replaced."

"What are you taking about?" Optimus asked bluntly, not in the mood for time-wasting, "Why wasn't I told about this beforehand?"

"You weren't told Optimus, because we wanted to give you a choice; not let you think up one for yourself. So the question is; will you accept the new Autobot/Human treaty or will you leave our planet for good?"

Optimus realised all this had been planned in advance; he knew what his answer would be, and so did the general, but he questioned anyway.

"What is the new treaty?"

"It will be a new taskforce; and unlike NEST, all members of this taskforce will be under my command, Autobots included—" He shot a triumphant glance at Blazemaster, "—And as we are now under Decepticon attack, we must _resist _them…

"So, if you do accept, you will all fall under this new treaty; the Human and Autobot Resistance Pact. Or, if you prefer, HARP. As you speak for all the Autobots Optimus, what is your answer?"

Optimus knew he had been backed into a corner. But he was injured and tired, and wanted it over with.

"Fine then; on behalf of the Autobots, we accept your treaty."

"Then," Mason said with uncontained arrogance, "I proclaim the creation of HARP, and me as its Director."

He looked down at the angry faces staring up at him. The Autobots, the soldiers and the kids. They couldn't conceal their dislike for him. He beamed.

"Well then… 'Cry havoc; and let slip the dogs of war!'

* * *

><p>This is it guys; the start of Transformers: Good Mourning. It will be done in mostly standalone episodes from here on out, and will run for 20 of them.<p>

So ladies & gentlemen, let's get this show on the road!


	5. Back in Black

And thus, we begin 'Transformers: Good Mourning' in proper! In this week's exciting episode some old faces are brought back... especially some human ones!

Oh yes, before I forget, thank you **transformers001 **and** DeathByLackOfMusic** for your reviews! I read on Tvtropes that an author should always thank his reviewers, so I will from now on! Although I would prefer some proper reviews instead of comments just saying 'Loving the story'; there is nothing better to an author than having a proper, honest review!

Enough waffle; Episode 5 is here!

* * *

><p>A pearl in the inky blackness.<p>

A pinhead compared to the fireball that hung over it.

Just one in trillions.

But it was here where the galaxy's fate had been decided many times, and where denizens of the galaxy watched from far away. Just one planet.

Earth.

A planet filled to the brim with life, covered in water, pocketed with land. Insects crawled within their hives, never pondering to what hung above them, never caring. They worked day and night to fuel their colony's hunger, feeding it both land and life. A thousand years from now, and it would be unrecognisable.

But not all insects were mindless drones. Some stood with visitors from above to fight an outside threat, a threat that watched them all at night. That watched from the moon above.

But one of these threats descended from the rocky satellite, swimming through the black void, intent on hunting another satellite, one definitely not made by nature.

He found it.

Poised above the Earth was a US spy satellite, a gem of knowledge, a library of information.

Silently, Soundwave attached himself to this man-made watcher, snaking tentacles that gripped the satellite, expelling millions of nanomachines that fed him an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, for power.

When he had firmly attached himself to the mainframe, he saw the world beneath him for what it truly was.

Beautiful.

Soundwave was unlike other Decepticons; he was probably one of the few transformers that actually hated Cybertron and so jumped at the chance to escape on the _Nemesis_. Through the mission to find the Solar Harvester, he found worlds teeming with life, worlds that shone with colours of pure emotion and soul. Whereas others would have found organic life disgusting, Soundwave was simply interested. He was also the only other transformer other than Optimus, to realise that the humans were at least equal in power to the transformers. Despite their lack of energon and metallic tissue, they were still fuelled by the same needs to destroy themselves; greed, pride and an all-consuming wrath to kill each other. He found Earth so very interesting, and upon discovery all those years ago he had quickly designed and created several minions based on the animals that roamed the beautiful planet beneath him.

One of them, the only true sentient one, lay hidden within Soundwave himself.

"Laserbeak," he uttered, "Descend to the following coordinates."

Within him, the cybertronian vulture awakened, and flew from Soundwave, flying to the planet below.

Soundwave looked down on Earth. He would have envied the humans for what they had, if he hadn't the urge to wipe them out.

_Now it is time to wake the others._

* * *

><p><em>Utah<em>

"_Ratbat, awaken."_

The old, dirty gas station on the side of the desert road never got any customers, thanks to the fact it was closed. And the fact that the owners were dead.

But this time, Harriet Moore had been driving to Salt Lake City, when all of a sudden, a sparkplug broke. Luckily, the abandoned gas station was a few minutes' walk back down the road, and hopefully it still had a working telephone. What a day to run out of battery.

The closed signs were badly scrawled, as if done by someone who had never written before, and the door was locked. But a glassless window was no match for a high-heel, and she was soon in.

The shelves had been knocked down, food packets scattered across the ground. It looked as if a large fight had taken place, and someone had lost badly. Harriet wanted out as quickly as possible.

Luckily, there was a phone on the counter and she quickly tried it. It was dead.

And that was when she noticed the shotgun.

The double-barrelled gun lay surrounded by shells, on a blood-encrusted floor.

Harriet shook slightly, but knew that whatever had happened here had happened a long time ago, and whoever had been here had moved on.

_Unless it's one of those psychotic tramps that take up residency in these kinds of places…_

_Stop scaring yourself!_

She was about to go back to the car and wait for a passer-by, when she noticed a foot sticking out the backroom door.

She stood very still.

She could hear nothing but the sound of her own breathing.

_Be smart, be smart, be smart…_

_Shit, someone's dead!_

_What do I do?_

Slowly, meticulously, she made her towards the door.

_Oh, that's smart; the blonde's making her way towards the body, where no doubt the killer's hiding behind the door._

She quickly turned to the front door, to see how it was locked; several strange, huge, intricate bolts kept it closed. Someone had paid a lot of money for those.

_Head for the window…_

_What if the stiff has a mobile?_

Once again, she made her way towards the foot.

She got to the half-closed door. She slowly opened it.

When it was fully open, she looked into the room.

The man on the floor had been torn up by some wild animal; his chest had been opened up and large scratch marks ran across his unrecognisable face.

Another body was sat up against a wall. Her head was missing.

Harriet gagged and let out a small sob.

In the rafters above her, two glowing red optics appeared. They watched her.

A servo whirred.

Harriet looked up.

The huge Ratbat screeched, shattering Harriet's eardrums so that she did not hear herself scream.

Ratbat descended on her, in a whirling flurry of blood and claws.

* * *

><p><em>Sudan<em>

In the dark of the night, the moon shining down upon them, two figures slept in the shadows of a forgotten camp.

"_Ravage, Rumble, awaken."_

A red eye glowed in the dark. Followed by two more.

The silver cat-like Ravage and the blue rhino-like Rumble charged into the African jungle.

* * *

><p><em>Alaska<em>

The snow wrapped around the mountains. A blizzard was picking up.

Laserbeak perched on a rock; it looked down on the abandoned airfield. It heard Soundwave's call.

"_Buzzsaw, Beastbox, awaken."_

But Laserbeak heard another message.

"_This is Concord-177, our fuel tank is ruptured and we are making an emergency landing! I repeat, this is Concord-177…"_

Laserbeak watched an old Cessna plane descend on the airfield. He shivered with joy for what he knew was going to happen.

He saw Buzzsaw ascend from the roof of a hangar.

He heard Beastbox roar.

But the crew of the Cessna heard nothing, the engine sound drowning out everything.

It landed expertly, the pilot almost gliding the plane across the icy landing strip. He put his old Cessna to a stop in front of the hangar.

Laserbeak laughed into the wind. "Wrong place," he snarled nasally, "Wrong time."

As three crewmembers got out the plane, the hangar door burst open. Beastbox stood on hind legs, hate in his eyes.

The crewmembers stood still, as if frozen in the wind.

And then Beastbox roared and charged them.

Laserbeak watched with giddy joy as the huge purple gorilla tore the humans apart, breaking off arms and legs as if they were made of clay. He then smashed into the plane, knocking it across the ice, and causing whoever was inside to scream.

Laserbeak squawked over the valley and Beastbox turned to his call. The huge metal monkey lumbered towards Laserbeak's position. Buzzsaw flew around the metal vulture.

"Buzzsaw," it cackled, "No witnesses."

Buzzsaw dived towards the Cessna.

Laserbeak heard a woman's voice.

"_Help, somebody help us! There's something outside! It killed Barry… oh God, we have children aboard—"_

Lasers sprang from Buzzsaw's eyes, smashing into the plane. The Cessna exploded in flame, charred bits of human flying out, the fire a signal for miles around.

When Beastbox and Buzzsaw had made their way to Laserbeak, they howled victory.

"This is only the beginning," it snarled, "For the insects will mourn in their millions when we are finished."

They vanished into the blizzard.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 5: Back in Black<span>

_I'm a rolling thunder, pourin' rain  
>I'm coming on like a hurricane<br>My lightning's flashing across the sky  
>You're only young but you're gonna die!<em>

—**Hells Bells**

* * *

><p>"The children shouldn't be here," Mason said firmly, "I am ordering that they are to be placed into the witness protection program."<p>

They were all in the command structure: Lennox, Optimus Prime looking in, the kids, Mason, Gerin and the lead researcher into cybertronian technology, Kaminari Ishihara. She had been a cybernetics scientist and was a master in the ways of making and controlling cybertronian technology. Transferred from the cybernetics division in Japan, she had assisted the old NEST in many operations, most recently stopping an attempt to influence the Japanese government via a Decepticon Pretender.

"There is absolutely no way," she said, resolute, "Before, it was a danger that the Decepticons could find them; now, with Soundwave back in business, I wouldn't be surprised if they already knew the kids were here. It is now just a matter of keeping them safe."

She had once been a friendly and playful woman. But she had been good friends with two Autobots that had arrived on Earth; Longarm and Beachbreak. They were now both victims of the Decepticons. Since then, although she wasn't completely cold, her personality had taken a shift for the worse. But she was still utterly loyal to the Autobot cause.

"Plus," Lennox added, "There is the information in Marcus's brain; he somehow knew that Thundercracker was tearing up Rio, when no-one in NEST did. That right?" he asked, turning to Marcus.

He looked slightly embarrassed at even being there, but he responded truthfully.

"Yeah, it was weird; it was if I was there… looking at him. Into him."

"Into him?" Gerin asked, her face full of interest.

"I… I felt him… he was happy. Not gleeful or sadistic, but happy… he was just happy killing all those people."

Lennox muttered something under his breath. "Any chance you can tell us where he is now?"

"Almost certainly on the moon," Mason told the attendance, "Our satellites tracked several objects heading out of our atmosphere towards it. It must have been the Decepticons."

"Yeah," Marcus agreed, "And I can't tell you anyway… it just came out of nowhere, like…"

Marcus frowned at this revelation.

"Like it was intended to happen."

Everyone perked up at that.

"What do you mean?" Optimus asked. From his position outside the command structure, he peered in over a metal gantry.

"Well, think about it," Marcus began to realise, "Why then? Just as Thundercracker was attacking Rio, why did I suddenly know about it? Why did it happen just then?"

"Maybe the Allspark knowledge gave you an acute awareness of any spark on the planet," Kaminari theorised.

"Well then why didn't I see Optimus, or Sideswipe or any of the others? Why just Thundercracker?"

"Yes," Optimus agreed, "I doubt the Allspark shard influenced you; it is pure, unmatched energy. If anything, it would destroy Marcus utterly. And also, the Allspark only transferred its knowledge into Marcus; how would it have known about Thundercracker?"

"Maybe—" but Kaminari stopped suddenly, for Marcus had turned white as a sheet.

"Marcus?"

"I see him," Marcus whispered, as if far away, "He's in Rio."

"What's going on?" Mason asked gruffly.

"Thundercracker," Marcus muttered, "He's in Rio."

"No Marcus," Gerin whispered urgently to him, "That happened three days ago; this is just an echo of what happened. You must fight through it."

"This is no echo," Marcus muttered again, "This is happening now."

"What do you mean?"

"I can see him," he said as tears rolled down his cheeks, "Standing next to Jesus."

"Christ the Redeemer," Mason said, realising the truth, "Optimus; Rio, now!"

"On it," Optimus replied, before heading to Blazemaster.

"All criminals return to the scene of the crime," Kaminari hissed, "We need to test the Pillars on humans, now!"

"What?" Mason exclaimed, "We're not taking that chance! The Pillars may malfunction!"

"We need to get HARP in gear, general," Kaminari retorted, "And that starts with humans and Autobots working together!"

Kaminari and Lennox quickly headed for the exit, the rest of the room in pursuit. Only Mason and Ryder remained behind.

"YOU ARE DISOBEYING A DIRECT ORDER!" Mason yelled, turning red, "COME BACK!"

Fuming, Mason turned to glare at Ryder, who sat with his feet on the table.

"What are you looking at?" Mason snarled.

"You can talk the talk general," Ryder said, his sunglasses still on, "But you'll never walk the walk with that bulk."

"Listen, kid," Mason spat, slamming his hands on the table, "You had a military issue grenade; I can send you to prison and never look back!"

"I agree; you could never turn your neck that much."

Mason, almost exploding with rage, quickly left the room.

Ryder sighed, got up and headed for the door as well.

"No wonder the Decepticons are back in business; no-one's got any brains here."

* * *

><p>Once again, Thundercracker stared out over the City of God. He could still see emergency services down in the city.<p>

_The nest must be rebuilt… they're like a swarm, never ceasing in their attempts at construction and destruction._

"Soundwave," he spat, "What am I doing here?"

"_You are to offer Optimus a surrender request while my forces get in position. This is on direct orders from Megatron himself."_

Thundercracker had no idea where Soundwave's forces were, or what they were doing, but neither did he care.

"So I'm a distraction," he snarled.

"_No. You are the distraction from the real distraction, which will distract HARP long enough for us to have revenge."_

"Revenge? Why can't I join in with destroying the Autobots?"

"_We are not seeking revenge on the Autobots. Not yet."_

"Then wha—"

But Optimus, Blazemaster, Sideswipe and Kaminari Ishihara had appeared behind him through a pillar of blue light.

"Well," Kaminari said happily, "Looks like the space bridge works on humans!"

"Miss Ishihara," Optimus said politely but firmly, "That was a very dangerous risk you took; you could have been killed."

"Nonsense," she dismissed, "There was no 'could' about it; I wasn't killed."

"But still, you—"

"Ahem."

Sideswipe interrupted them to point at Thundercracker.

"Uh, guys? Decepticon."

"He is not here to fight," Optimus said knowingly, "Otherwise we would be up to our neck in flames within the city."

"Correct," Thundercracker replied, grinning like a shark, "I am here for talks."

"Your crimes must not go unpunished Thundercracker," Optimus frowned at him, "You must know that."

"I know a lot of things Prime," spoke the match that had lit the flames of war, "And I already know the answer to the question I am going to ask you."

"Oh really?" Prime asked. Through energon-wave signals, he told Blazemaster:

"_Get a message back to HARP; they're about to come under attack."_

"_W-What?"_

"_This is a distraction. The Decepticons are preparing for something big, and it no doubt involves HARP."_

"The question," Thundercracker spoke again, "Is this; will you surrender to us, the Decepticon cause, and be dragged into space in chains?"

"You do already know the answer, Thundercracker," Prime said angrily, readying his blades, "And I know this is a simple distraction."

"Then you know it too late Prime," Thundercracker replied gleefully, "The trap is shut; you will lose allies today."

And with those words, Thundercracker roared into the sky, just as the Brazilian air force flew overhead. In one final, spiteful gesture, Thundercracker shot a laser into Christ the Redeemer, blowing the statue to pieces, which then fell into the city.

Optimus almost roared as Thundercracker escaped into the sky.

"We need to go; HARP is no doubt under attack!"

* * *

><p>Back in Area 51, there was much discussion.<p>

"Did Kaminari go through the space bridge?" Lennox asked impatiently.

"She did," Ratchet replied, monitoring some huge monitors, "But in Rio her life signals are fine, as are her neural functions, muscles, tissue, etc."

"So she made it?"

"Yes. It seems the space bridge works with organics the same way it works on cybertronians."

"That's good news—"

All of a sudden, a rumbling could be felt and the lights flickered.

"What was that?" cried Mason.

"It sounds like HARP is under attack," Lennox uttered, "On the surface..."

"I've just received a message from Blazemaster," Arcee told the room, "They say Thundercracker was a distraction; this is where the real fight is going to be."

"I will calibrate the Pillars for their return," Ratchet said, "Mirage, Arcee and Chromia; hold off the Decepticons."

"On it," Mirage answered, before racing off to the funicular.

"Load up guys!" Lennox shouted, as squads got into shape and grabbed their weapons.

"Can you believe this shit?" Epps asked, "We're just starting out this war again, and already we're under attack. I should have just stayed with the consulting job."

"And miss out on this?" Lennox grinned, grabbing a sabot-stryker, "This is who we are; this is what we live for."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Los Angeles, someone else had found something to live for.<p>

"No, Carly, no more Mercedes'," Sam spoke into phone, quietly, "And I don't care if it's less than a hundred grand; I've had enough of cars that try to kill me."

After the battle of Chicago, Sam Witwicky had been given the compensation he deserved; namely, an undisclosed 'reward' for his part in battling and beating the Decepticons. Although he would have preferred to continue working with NEST, he quickly realised it was a childish notion… especially when the love of your life lands a starring role in an upcoming film. And when you're her agent. And when you're engaged to her. And when she's pregnant.

His secretary looked over at him, intent on getting the latest scoop on his many battles with the Decepticons. He quickly waved her away.

"Yeah, well Bee's always getting up to something," Sam replied, "But I'll be done in half an hour; you may already be booked up for another film before I'm done here."

He heard a squeal of joy at the other end of the phone. He smiled.

"Yeah, well I'm going to have to work hard," he laughed, "Love you… yes, and the baby… yeah, love you… I love you too… no you hang up… oh, wow, she actually hung up on me…"

Sam sat back in the reclining chair. He smiled. Life couldn't get much better than this.

"Uh, Mr Witwicky?" came his secretary's voice through the intercom, "There's someone here to see you."

"Who?"

"One Mikaela Banes."

Sam fell out of his chair.

* * *

><p>The funicular slowly dragged itself upwards, Lennox and his men, plus the sisters and Mirage, waited patiently.<p>

"Right," Lennox said, "We don't know exactly how many Decepticons are up there, nor do we know who they are. So we're going in blind, right outside our own headquarters."

"Fine," Mirage said cockily, "I don't even need to see them, to get them."

"If it turns out to be Megatron up there," interrupted Sergeant Gabriel Robertson, "You can gladly take him yourself."

"And who asked you?" Mirage sneered, "Little man."

"Alright, alright," Lennox sighed, "Let's just get this over with."

They were nearing the top. More rumbling could be heard, and the lights flickered again.

"Whoever's up there, they don't sound happy," Epps muttered.

"Colonel!" Arcee exclaimed, "Optimus and the rest have returned; they're getting on the other funicular."

"Good. If it's Megatron or Shockwave, we'll need all the help we can get."

The funicular stopped. The huge steel doors blocked exit to the Nevada desert.

Everyone held their breath.

The doors rumbled open.

They roared as they charged out, weapons raised…

And stopped almost immediately.

The car park was a mess; every vehicle had been overturned or blown to pieces. The tarmac was torn up, guard posts blown away. And in all that carnage and debris, stood one Decepticon.

The members of HARP stared in shock.

The Decepticon turned towards them, his eyes full of hate, his arms covered with weapons.

He then promptly fell to his knees, raised his hands and cried out in a shrill voice;

"I SURRENDER!"

Lennox and the rest looked at the cowardly Decepticon.

"Uh…" Lennox began, "Who is this?"

"That is Fearswoop," Arcee remembered, "We caught him during the Philadelphia incident, but was freed by Shockwave. He was then killed in battle, but it looks like he was among those resurrected."

"Well… is he a good warrior?"

"Not really… he's just one of Starscream's goons."

"Uh, guys?" Fearswoop questioned, "Aren't you going to take me prisoner?"

"And have you explode in our base?" Epps dismissed, "For all we know Starscream's strapped a bomb to you and as soon as you get inside, kaboom."

"Nah, I wouldn't let myself get blown up," Fearswoop argued, "I'm not like one of your Talibanese or whatever they're called. I wanna live!"

"Then why did you attack our base?" Lennox questioned as the sisters locked on some cybertronian laser-cuffs behind Fearswoop's back.

"What do you call a car's tire grip that insults you?" Fearswoop joked, grinning.

"Answer the question!" Chromia snarled, "We don't have time for jokes!"

"You wanna know the answer?" Fearswoop asked gleefully, "A dis-traction!"

All were silent for a moment.

"Dude," Epps whistled, "That was the worst joke I ever heard."

"You're a distraction?" Lennox asked hurriedly, "For what?"

"Why, revenge of course. Sweet, sweet revenge. Funny revenge."

"On who?"

And here Fearswoop grinned savagely. "Why, on your darling friend the boy, of course. I believe his name was… hmm, Sam?"

Everyone was stunned into silence.

"Megatron and Starscream aren't even in on it!" Fearswoop laughed, "This is all a Soundwave gig; on orders from our lord himself."

"Oh shit," Epps muttered, just as the second funicular opened, revealing Optimus Prime and the rest.

"Optimus!" Lennox called, "We've got to get to Los Angeles; the Decepticons are going after Sam!"

Optimus's face filled with horror, before he ran back into the funicular.

"Why didn't I see this coming?" he muttered angrily, "We need to move, now!"

* * *

><p>"Well," Sam said awkwardly, "Uh, hi I guess… this is unexpected"<p>

Mikaela stood in front of him, out in the lobby, in leather jacket and denim jeans. She was still as smoking hot as he remembered.

"Yeah," she smiled, "The last time didn't go quite as well."

Sam groaned when he remembered the day Mikaela packed up and left. It had all gone wrong when Wheelie had interfered. So after that day, Sam had locked Wheelie in the cupboard.

"Well… what are you doing in Los Angeles? I thought you were still helping your dad in Mission City…?"

"The garage was closed down," Mikaela said, biting her lip, "We've been on the road ever since. Los Angeles is city number seven."

"Oh, uh, sorry to hear that."

"You know what," she smiled, "It's better; just travelling with the sun on our backs, nothing but the road in front of us… what about you? I heard your new girl's now big in Hollywood."

"Well," Sam said, scratching the back of his neck, "It's only based off a play…"

"Apparently, it's a film adaption of _Hamlet_."

"Yeah, that's big isn't it? I was never one for the classics."

"And you're supposed to be her agent?"

"Only in name," Sam smiled, before being tempted to slap himself.

"What about Bee?"

"Oh yeah, Bee's good—"

"You could have called," she suddenly said, the smile vanishing, "Or even a simple e-mail."

"Uh, well I thought it was time we both moved on," Sam replied, trying not to trip over his words, "You know, find our place in society…"

"Yeah, because Hollywood looks so much better than a RV that regularly breaks down and has fuel problems."

"Yeah, it does look better now that you mention it," Sam said, still trying not to sweat too much, wanting to be anywhere but there, "But things moved on; I got stuck in the middle of that Chicago business—"

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash from the street.

"Wow!" cried someone from the offices, "It's the Autobots and the Decepticons!"

"Oh no," Sam muttered, running to a window, Mikaela in pursuit, "Why does this shit follow me everywhere…?"

Despite being high above the ground, when at the window the street was clear to see.

Bumblebee, the Autobot guardian of Sam, was duelling with a big, blue, cybertronian rhino.

"A rhino?" Mikaela quizzed, "And why is it made of metal?"

"Believe me, I've seen a vulture just like that—"

All of a sudden, Laserbeak appeared at the window, guns at the mouth and the tail.

"—Right there!"

As the guns blazed, Sam and Mikaela turned and ran. The window shattered and Laserbeak screeched in.

"Boy!" it cried as the office erupted in chaos, "There is no escape now!"

"Oh shit, shit, shit, shit," Sam cried as he took Mikaela to the lift, ducking under bullets as co-workers screamed and ran.

"Why does this always happen when I'm around you!" Mikaela shouted as they reached the lift door, with Sam hammering on the 'down' button.

"Come on!" he roared. Laserbeak flew down the corridor towards them.

"Shit, here he comes!" Sam cried.

But suddenly, Laserbeak was brought low. His head had been smashed by a printer. He roared and looked up, just as Sam's secretary brought a computer down on him.

"Don't you touch him!" the big lady roared, "That man's a hero!"

"Charlene, no!" Sam cried, but it was too late.

Laserbeak leaped upwards and forced his sharp tail into Charlene's mouth. With a cry of delight, he blew the secretary's brains out all over the wall.

Sam and Mikaela almost fell into the lift when it arrived. They backed up as the lift doors closed.

But Laserbeak stuck his head in, the mouth in his gun firing away. But almost as soon as he had entered, the head popped back for fear of decapitation against the floor.

As the lift slowly begun its descent, Sam and Mikaela breathed hard.

"Y-You okay?" Sam asked shakily.

"Shit really does follow you wherever you go," Mikaela groaned in pain, sliding to the floor.

Sam quickly dropped down to her, finding a bullet hole in her gut.

"No, no, no, no," he muttered, "Come on Mikaela, you've got to stay with me! You gotta live!"

"Why did I come here?" she moaned in pain, "Just to see you…? Heh, can't believe it ends with me dying."

"You're not dying today!" Sam cried, but looked up to the ceiling when he heard a loud bang. The light flickered.

"Oh crap…"

He heard scratching at the top of the elevator and knew the cables were being cut.

Sam turned to Mikaela. "You hang on… I'll be back."

Standing on tip-toes, Sam pushed up against the maintenance hatch.

Almost immediately, Laserbeak powered through, a vulture covered with sharp edges, its tail and mouth guns firing away blindly. In the confined space, it didn't matter what he hit.

But Sam struggled on, grabbing Laserbeak by the tail and neck, holding the terrifying bird against the lift wall.

"GIVE UP!" Laserbeak screeched, "LET DARKNESS TAKE YOU!"

"SHUT UP!" Sam roared, stepping on Laserbeak's tail so that he could land a right hook across the metal bird's face. Although the sharp face tore into Sam's hand, he hit again and again until an optic hung out and Laserbeak screamed with pain and rage.

In the wild flurry of gunfire, the light was taken out.

Sam, in the darkness, wrestled with the alien avian.

When the lift finally opened up, a man waiting there immediately had three bullets punched through his chest. But Sam finally let loose with a punch that put Laserbeak into stasis lock, breaking his hand in the process.

Almost screaming with the pain, he picked up the dazed Mikaela in both hands, before running through the entrance lobby.

"BUMBLEBEE!"

He nearly crashed through the entrance to the building, Mikaela fainting in his arms.

"BUMBLEBEE!" he cried again.

Out on the street, battle raged furiously.

While the LAPD was trying to push crowds away from the epicentre of the rumble, Bumblebee was desperately trying to hold off the huge rhino. But Rumble was smashing the Autobot aside as if made from plastic. In return, Bumblebee used his arm cannon to punch a hole in the rhino's side, sending it to the ground. He turned at Sam's cry.

"IT'S MIKAELA!" Sam roared. Understanding immediately, the plucky yellow Autobot transformed and drove onto the sidewalk, beeping his horn. Sam put Mikaela in the passenger's seat while he got in the front, just as Rumble got to his feet.

"GO, GO, GO, GO!"

As the Camaro drove down the street at breakneck pace, Rumble ran in pursuit for a few seconds before giving up the chase.

"_Where to, amigo?" _Bumblebee asked through the radio.

"A hospital!" Sam cried, holding Mikaela's head in his hands, watching as her shirt turned red. "Oh shit…"

And then, from the roof of a nearby building, something leapt onto Bumblebee.

Beastbox roared, the huge ape smashing his arms onto the Autobot.

Sam screamed as Bumblebee swerved in an attempt to knock off the clinging monkey. The Autobot drifted and slided, braked and accelerated, forcing Sam to hold Mikaela close.

A huge ape hand smashed the windscreen.

Bumblebee engaged in a huge spin, the wheels turning round like mad.

"_We're on a mission from God."_

"Beeeeeeeeeeee…!" Sam warned.

Finally, Beastbox was thrown off the Camaro. It instantly leapt to its feet—

—And its head exploded.

As the huge monkey's corpse slumped to the ground, Sam turned in his seat, looking out the window.

HARP had arrived.

Optimus, his revolver still smoking, stood in the lead of Sideswipe, Mirage, the sisters and a mess of soldiers.

"Sam!" Lennox roared.

"Lennox!" Sam replied out the window, tears in his eyes, "It's Mikaela; she's dying!"

The colonel wasted no time. "Bumblebee, get Mikaela to a hospital and then take Sam to Rendezvous Point Alpha; Optimus will upload the coordinates!"

"What about Carly?" Sam cried.

"Pick up Carly on the way there!" Lennox added.

As Bumblebee shot down the street, Lennox turned to Optimus.

"Think the big ape was the only one?"

"No," Optimus replied, the Autobots and HARP fanning out down the streets, "This place is crawling with Decepticons."

"Indeed it is," boomed a voice down the street.

Optimus turned, facing the speaker.

Soundwave stood in the middle of the street, Buzzsaw perched on an outstretched arm, while Ratbat hung from beneath it. Ravage prowled round his feet, while Rumble stared through evil eyes, his chest wound already repairing.

"Optimus," Soundwave uttered in his undertone.

"Soundwave, what fight do you have with the boy?" Optimus growled, "He has done you no wrong and I swear he never will."

"It is no longer about petty revenge, Prime," Soundwave replied, "Debts must be repaid; Lord Megatron has suffered three defeats at your hands, so three valuable human lives will be taken from your allies; the boy and his two mates."

"That sounds a lot like petty revenge," Optimus said while he drew his two keyblades, "And it will be denied today."

"You still don't understand, Optimus," Soundwave castigated, "I don't hate the children of your philosophies; but their time has come. I shall reap the souls indebted."

"Act as malevolent as you wish Soundwave," Optimus cried, "But you are like me; nothing more than a life not yet taken!"

"Oh, I concur; for your soul must also be owed, for killing Beastbox. So… Rumble, Ravage, Buzzsaw and Ratbat; kill him."

As the animals roared a primal scream and charged, Optimus cried out. "Autobots, HARP; this is just a distraction to kill Sam! Protect Sam!"

Guns on his back blazing away, Ravage launched himself at Optimus, biting and clawing at his leg. Buzzsaw burnt holes in Optimus's chest while Ratbat almost broke Optimus's audio receptors with an ear-splitting, ultra-sonic screech. Rumble put on the finishing touch, barrelling Optimus to the floor. They attacked, an unrelenting pack of animals.

And all the while, Soundwave stalked closer, a sonic cannon in each hand.

"Optimus… don't fear the reaper."

* * *

><p>Sam leapt through the open window back into Bumblebee.<p>

"Mikaela's in care, now let's go get Carly!"

"_Doctor, the patient's hand needs attention…"_

"I'm fine," Sam lied, "Let's go."

All of a sudden, a transformer landed on a nearby bus, instantly killing the people inside.

"Sorry Bumblebee," said the Decepticon, whose name was Bludgeon, "But your time has come."

"LET'S GO!" Sam roared and the Camaro shot down the street. Bludgeon transformed into a muscle car and chased after him.

Sam looked in the rear-view mirror. "We got Decepticons!"

A missile streaked past them, Bludgeon's weapons appearing all around his car form. A laser struck the back of Bumblebee, setting him alight.

"SHIT!" Sam roared as he heard Bumblebee groan in pain.

Blazemaster came out of nowhere. He landed on top of Bludgeon, pulling him off the road into a tumble of metal and scrap.

And then, in front of Bumblebee, four new Decepticons landed.

Skystalker stood with the Dreads; three Decepticon assassins by the names of Crankcase, Crowbar and Hatchet.

"Boy!" Skystalker roared, "SURRENDER AND DIE!"

"_The negotiations were short," _Bumblebee radioed, smacking into Skystalker's legs, bringing him down with an angry roar.

He then shot down the street, followed by three angry Chryslers.

"We need help!" Sam cried, "Can't you call the Autobots?"

"_We're out of range, captain."_

It needn't have mattered, as several HARP vehicles appeared at the end of the street, covered with an assortment of weapons.

"Ready, aim…" Epps cried.

Bumblebee transformed and leapt into the air, Sam in hand, as Epps roared;

"FIRE!"

As Bumblebee flew over the barricade of vehicles, missiles screaming down the street, obliterating it with explosions, enveloping the Dreads with fire.

"I think we got them," called one of the troops.

Out of the blaze, the Dreads leapt; the animalistic Hatchet roared while Crankcase and Crowbar drew an assortment of blades.

"Fuck," Epps swore as the Dreads charged the barricade, "FIRE AGAIN!"

* * *

><p>When Bumblebee arrived at Carly's apartment, she had already heard battle and was waiting nervously outside.<p>

"What's going on?" she asked, scared, when Bumblebee pulled up.

"Get in!" Sam cried, "It's the Decepticons; they're back!"

"Where are we going?" the blonde actress enquired as she got in the passenger's seat.

"Rendezvous Point Alpha," Sam replied. Then, to Bumblebee, he asked, "Where is it?"

"_The UH-35 Black Hawk is a military aircraft—"_

"A helicopter?" Sam asked, relieved, "Then let's go!"

Bumblebee raced down the street.

"Why are they back?" Carly asked hurriedly.

"I don't know," Sam said, his face a tight line of worry, "But... I think it might be because of me."

* * *

><p>Optimus stabbed Rumble in the gut, using his sword to throw the metal rhino off of him. Ravage attacked his face, biting out an optic, scratching with claws that could rip through concrete. Optimus threw him off as well, swinging with his sword again, scattering Buzzsaw and Ratbat.<p>

But as Optimus got to his feet, a blast knocked him back, shredding through his armour.

Soundwave stood over him, sonic cannon barrel smoking.

"The humans have beliefs, much like we do," Soundwave uttered with dark reverence, "A concept of Heaven and Hell, much like our Matrix and Pit. So, as you lie dying here before me, I wonder; where will you end up? In Heaven, for how you have saved the human race; or in the Pit, for how you have doomed ours?"

Optimus spat out a piece of scrap, before looking up at Soundwave, half-blind.

"I do not care."

"You will Optimus, you will," Soundwave muttered as he aimed his cannon at Optimus's face, "But just before you reach the other side, remember this; we are back, and you failed to stop us."

Optimus let his other optic go dark.

And then a thunder passed and Soundwave was thrown back by an explosion. His menagerie were sent reeling by the shockwave as well, Ratbat and Buzzsaw being knocked out of the sky. Human jets passed overhead and Optimus silently thanked them.

Optimus and Soundwave got to their feet.

"Now Soundwave," Optimus uttered, drawing an axe, "Let us see who passes over first."

Soundwave stared hard as the human jets circled overhead.

"As you wish."

* * *

><p>When Bumblebee finally reached the helipad, it wasn't a Black Hawk waiting. A CH-47 Chinook was on the helipad, two AH-64 Apache choppers in the air protecting it.<p>

But Bumblebee didn't arrive alone. Two Decepticons by the names of Skipjack and Long Haul followed right behind.

The Chinook's blades started turning.

The Apaches opened fire.

Long Haul was killed immediately, a missile smashing through the windscreen of the truck, blowing it up from the inside. Skipjack dodged before transforming, sending a missile into one of the Apaches, destroying it.

Bumblebee skidded to a stop, transforming as Sam and Carly ran to the Chinook.

"LET'S GO, LET'S GO!" Sam cried as they got on the chopper, the crew closing the door shut.

Bumblebee and the remaining Apache poured on the weapons fire, Skipjack leaping and ducking like a madman. The Decepticon let off another missile, just as Bumblebee blew off his head. But that last missile took out the Apache's tail rotor, sending it to the ground in an explosion of debris and flame.

But the Chinook was up in the air, heading into the sky.

Bumblebee looked up sadly, waving goodbye.

"We'll meet again Bee," Sam said to himself, smiling despite the pain in his hand. Carly waved back down.

They were safe.

"God, I hope Mikaela's alright," Sam sighed.

"Who?" Carly asked, her attention suddenly on Sam again. Sam smiled.

"An old flame—" but Sam cut himself off as he noticed something odd.

A shadow had been cast over the chopper.

And below them, Bumblebee's arm cannon appeared.

"What the—?"

And then with a crunch of steel and twisting of metal, the Chinook found itself in the claws of something very unsafe. The windows smashed and the door sprang open, a crew member falling out to his death.

Over the roar of the wind, Sam heard a voice, full of evil intent.

"You thought I'd forget about you, boy?" roared Starscream, the helicopter in his talons.

Bumblebee, unable to shoot for fear of hitting Sam, could do nothing but watch in terror as Starscream used his jets to fly into the sky, his quarry in clawed feet.

* * *

><p>Half blind and wounded, Optimus was having trouble even locating the much more nimble Soundwave, who dodged and slashed like a warrior of old. Despite being much smaller, the Decepticon was having no trouble in navigating the flames that roamed rampant around the street, leaping out of the fire to attack Optimus.<p>

"You are slow in your age," Soundwave taunted, his dark tone reflecting his obligation to kill.

Optimus responded with a quick uppercut that smashed Soundwave into a wrecked car.

"And you are getting distracted with all your talk!" Optimus responded, his axe poised.

Soundwave slowly got to his feet, his back to Optimus, knowing the Autobot leader would not attack from behind.

"_Soundwave, this is Starscream; I have the boy and his friends! They will soon meet their end!"_

Soundwave stood still then. He weighed his options. He knew that survival was the real victory.

And besides, if Starscream was true to his word, then the mission was accomplished.

"_Flatline."_

On the moon, the mad doctor responded, _"Yes Soundwave?"_

"_Prepare my ascent."_

Soundwave turned back to Optimus. It was clear that he was not up to a fight.

"Will you surrender, Soundwave?" Optimus asked.

Soundwave considered it. He honestly did. But he knew that as long as he breathed, there was always a way to beat the Autobots.

"No, Optimus; I won't."

"Then prepare to die."

But then Soundwave turned a shade of blue.

"NO!" Optimus roared, rushing forward, his axe raised high above him.

But just as he brought it down, Soundwave disappeared in a flash of blue light. The axe embedded in the tarmac just as Soundwave's pets disappeared as well.

Optimus fell to one knee.

_As long as Sam got away… we have won here today._

* * *

><p>Sam awoke to find himself on top of the world.<p>

He looked around him and saw nothing but sky. He was on a concrete roof… but where?

He turned his head again and saw Starscream.

The helicopter had been pulled up onto the Aon Center, one of the tallest buildings in Los Angeles. And from this very roof, Starscream was grabbing the fleeing members of the helicopter crew in his fingers before tossing them over the edge.

Sam slowly crawled towards the helicopter wreckage as Starscream kicked the last crewmember off the building, the man screaming as he fell. He could see Carly hanging out of the ruined helicopter, unconscious.

"Carly," Sam whispered.

No response.

And then a shadow loomed over him.

He looked up.

Starscream looked down.

"Starscream," Sam said, trying to smile, "Long time, no see!"

Starscream said nothing, simply staring at Sam.

"Uh, listen, I'm sorry I killed you, I can understand how you can be pissed when that happens," Sam said, trying to mend broken bridges, remembering the last time he had been in Megatron's grasp, "But how about we start over, be friends?"

Starscream continued to say nothing. Indeed, his optics just seemed to grow more hateful.

"Um, okay then," Sam sighed, no longer reasoning, "Let me just say this; you kill me and Optimus will chase you down, like forever, until you are dead."

"How?" Starscream muttered, as if not hearing Sam.

"W-What?"

"How is it," Starscream snarled, "That I was brought low by you? A simple, sweaty insect. A creature so pathetically small and weak, that he hasn't even ventured beyond his own moon."

This time, Sam said nothing, preferring to let Starscream let his anger out, keep delaying so that Optimus could arrive soon.

"You disgust me," Starscream spat, "A creature such as you should not even exist, yet alone have brought down a Decepticon!"

He kicked out, knocking Sam back onto the roof. The human breathed hard with pain.

"You got lucky!" Starscream almost shrieked.

"No," Sam whispered.

"What?" Starscream snarled, livid.

"I said no!" Sam roared up at the towering alien, getting back to his feet.

They stood, swaying in the wind above a hive of millions.

"I was not lucky! You were a fool! You got too cocky and too arrogant and that is how I killed you! You were a stupid, pathetic little slime who would never admit what a stuck up little shit he was!"

"ME? PATHETIC? HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS STARSCREAM IN SUCH A WAY—"

"SHUT UP!" Sam roared, "YOU ARE PATHETIC! AND TO PROVE HOW PATHETIC YOU ARE, NOT ONLY WERE YOU KILLED BY AN INSECT, BUT YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE BALLS TO FIGHT HIM FAIRLY!"

Sam was in tears then, because he knew he was going to die.

But all the rage and hate suddenly left Starscream then, like the air out of a balloon. He fell back, sitting on the roof, staring down at Sam.

"Me?" Starscream asked whimsically, a strange look in his eye, "Pathetic…?"

"Face it Starscream; all you've ever done is kiss Megatron's ass!"

Starscream and Sam stared at each other, a god and a man. And the man was winning.

"Me… pathetic," Starscream tasted those words, letting them sink in, "You know nothing…"

"I know more than you!" Sam shouted again, "And I always will!"

Starscream looked into Sam's eyes and saw the truth there. He felt something nag at his spark. He felt the world seeming to close in around him.

"I hate you," Starscream hissed, "And I hate Prime and Megatron and Soundwave and Shockwave and everyone. What have they ever done for me? What have you ever done for me?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw Carly beginning to stir.

"I killed you Starscream," Sam spat, "I. Killed. You. And that is what I did… and from the way I see it, it was the best thing that ever happened to you."

The sun began to set, the transformer and the human silhouetted, mortal enemies.

"Then," Starscream whispered, "From now on, I will win; I will live longer then you, then Prime, then Megatron. I will be the last one alive at the end and I will win this war. Me. I will survive. Then that will show the galaxy how 'pathetic' I am. I. Will. Win."

Starscream looked down at the devastated Sam.

"And it will start with your death, boy. And there is nothing you can do about it."

And then something clicked between them. As if they suddenly knew that that was the truth and nothing else mattered.

Sam looked up, his face wet with tears.

"Fine… but please, I beg you, don't kill Carly," Sam sobbed, "Just leave her be."

Starscream looked from Sam to the stirring girl in the helicopter.

"S-Sam?" Carly asked, awakening, wiping her eyes.

"Fine… I promise," Starscream muttered and held out a hand.

Sam stepped upon on the huge, clawed hand. Like a stairway to heaven.

"Sam?" Carly asked, more hurriedly, "SAM!"

Starscream transformed and shot into the sky.

"SAM, NO!" Carly cried.

But the thunder passed and the sky was silent.

* * *

><p>...<p>

The forest of stars loomed before him.

"I've never seen so many," Sam wondered, staring at the sight of a lifetime from the cockpit of the F-22.

"The cosmos," Starscream told him, "It stretches on for infinity."

Everything was silent. There was not a sound in space.

"It is time for you to go, Sam," Starscream told him.

"…For revenge?"

"For war. For sides. You chose the Autobots. I chose the Decepticons. That's all there is to it."

"Then… thank you."

"For what?" Starscream asked, genuinely surprised.

"For sparing Carly… and referring to me by my name, like an equal."

Starscream said nothing.

"I… I just wish I could say goodbye to my parents, one last time…"

"I give you to the void," Starscream said respectfully, "Go find the Matrix."

The cockpit opened.

Sam floated out.

Starscream transformed silently, watching his killer go into the night.

Sam looked back at Starscream. Looked behind him, towards the Earth. He saw it for what it truly was.

Beautiful.

He floated into space.

Starscream watched him fade away, before acknowledging to himself one last thing.

_Now we are equal…_

Starscream transformed and headed for the moon, to resume the eternal conflict.

* * *

><p>Optimus fell to his knees.<p>

Lennox let out a breath he felt he had been holding forever.

Carly wouldn't stop crying.

And Bumblebee did not even seem alive anymore. He stood as still as a statue

The whole contingent of HARP was shocked into silence at the news.

They had failed.

_So this is war… where it is no longer just the bad guys losing and the good guys riding into the sunset… this is war, where the innocent and the weak are destroyed and forgotten..._

_This is war… where anyone dies._

* * *

><p>Mikaela turned in her bed at the Good Samaritan Hospital to look at the nurse.<p>

"Would you like some water?" the nurse asked kindly.

Mikaela nodded, unable to speak, her throat dry as sandpaper.

The nurse headed for the door, only for a person to block her way.

"I'm sorry," the nurse asked, "Who are you—"

Two bullet holes appeared in her chest, before she fell back onto the floor. Mikaela's eyes widened, but she was unable to scream or shout.

It was a tall man, at around seven feet tall, completely hidden by a huge, black raincoat, gloves and fedora hat. He held a silenced pistol in his hand.

"I am sorry," the man said in a dark voice, "But Harbinger has designated you disposable."

Mikaela tried to scream, but no sound came out.

"Harbinger would also like you to know that Sam Witwicky is no longer among the living."

Mikaela's face filled with shock.

A bullet smashed through her skull.

The tall man stood still.

"Mikaela Banes… has been ended."

He turned and made his leave, off to end Carly Spencer.

And Mikaela sat in the hospital bed, her life gone.

* * *

><p>Oops! Did I forget to mention that I killed off those returning human characters? It completely slipped my mind...<p>

Sorry to those Sam and Mikaela fans, but Michael Bay's under-developed characters had to go; my imagination, my fan-fic! It also allows me to put Bumblebee back into HARP...

Stay tuned readers, for next week's exciting episode; 'War Pigs'!


	6. War Pigs

New chapter up (finally!) and I'll be trying to upload them as quickly as they come.

Thank you to** gamergirl052 **for your, uh, review. Of course, opinions are welcome as well!

Episode six is here; thank you to those who have read this far.

* * *

><p>"My master, Lord Megatron," Starscream simpered, "The boy… is dead."<p>

They lurked in the darkness of the _Ark_, Megatron upon his throne, his lieutenants kneeling before him. They kept their heads bowed out of respect and loyalty.

"Starscream, killing a single insect is nothing to be proud of," Megatron proclaimed, inspecting his clawed fingers for want of something more interesting than his air commander, "But still… his death satisfies me. The debt had been repaid. Now we must concentrate on the Autobots' demise."

"Lord Megatron," Soundwave uttered, "I have located a Pillar on the planet below; recovery is advised."

"And why would we want more of Sentinel's toys?" Megatron spat, "We have enough for the teleportation of our forces, so why bother wasting our efforts for more?"

"Because our technology, no matter how insignificant it is, is still our technology. It does not matter if we use the Pillar as it was intended to function; it still contains a substantial amount of raw energon that can be used to fuel our forces or create better weapons for our war."

Megatron continued to inspect his claws for another minute before turning to Soundwave.

"Fine then; who will recover this Pillar?"

Soundwave spoke up. "I have a contact on the surface below—"

"I will Lord Megatron!" Starscream interrupted, looking up, "Dispatch me and my forces to recover the Pillar and you will not be disappointed!"

"Starscream, cease your perpetual whining," Megatron snarled, "You may have the mission if you wish but remember; they are _my _forces and I will allocate them to whomever I wish."

Quick to diffuse the tension, Soundwave continued, "I have also located remnant Decepticons on the planet below; an old warrior by the name of Barricade and two others."

Starscream turned to Soundwave. _Barricade… alive? It's been meta-cycles since I saw his ugly hide…_

"Then Starscream will use those forces," Megatron smiled, "If they are on that piece of blasted rock already, then they are in a position to assist. Now leave! Shockwave, remain."

After Starscream and Soundwave had left the room, Megatron looked down on Shockwave, who stood straight. Even though Megatron was on his raised throne, Shockwave almost came up to his height.

"You would not participate in the discussions?" Megatron questioned.

"The discussions are a waste of my time."

"And what would you rather be doing?"

"Killing. Autobots, preferably."

Megatron smiled.

"Your time will come… but first, let us collect what is ours."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 6: War Pigs<span>

_In the fields, the bodies burning  
>As the war machine keeps turning<br>Death and hatred to mankind  
>Poisoning their brainwashed minds, oh Lord yeah!<em>

—**War Pigs**

* * *

><p>"Sir, the defence minister is here; he wants to discuss the 'Wreckers' problem."<p>

Akil Farrah looked over the city. He stood at the balcony, arms on the railing, looking down with pride. The capital city of Mekka had never looked more beautiful from the palace.

He looked up at the sun, putting on shades.

"Tell him I'm coming."

"A-Another thing sir," his secretary said shakily, her voice trembling, "Someone else wishes to speak with you."

"Who?"

Then someone else, with a voice that was definitely not his secretary's, spoke from behind him.

"Someone who _demands _your attention."

Farrah turned around to see something very much like a metal vulture perched on top of his terrified secretary's head. Blood trickled down her face.

"Laserbeak!" Farrah exclaimed happily, "Long time, no see… I heard you and Soundwave were dead."

"We were delayed," Laserbeak snarled, "But we have returned; Soundwave detected a Pillar located somewhere in your country but is unable to locate its exact position. Do you know of this technology?"

"You mean a strange, long, blue-glowing, cybertronian, pillar-shaped device?"

"Yes."

"Then, no, I have not found it."

"I have no time for jokes," Laserbeak snarled again, "Deliver it to the following coordinates, where three Decepticons will be waiting, hand it over and return here."

"And my reward?"

"The entire middle-east and Asia once we have taken this pathetic little planet."

"Fine by me," Akil grinned, "That simple eh?"

"That simple," Laserbeak said, narrowing his eyes at Farrah, "Anything to report?"

"Ah, yes; the Autobots are here."

"WHAT?" Laserbeak almost shrieked.

"A trio of them by the name of the 'Wreckers' are in my country, touring. Optimus and the humans sent them to keep an eye on the tense 'situations' in the middle-east, most especially me."

"Why you?"

"Because I'm a very evil dictator."

"They are not our problem," Laserbeak dismissed, "If we fail to get the Pillar, the blame is falling on you. You deal with the Autobots."

"That I will," Akil said, still smiling, "Don't worry yourself over it; how hard can taking down three Autobots be? Now, could you please get off my secretary's head before she bleeds to death?"

Laserbeak shot into the air and circled once, saying;

"_Do not fail, insect_."

And then it flew into the sky. Akil watched the vulture ascend into the heavens, marvelling at the extra-terrestrial. He turned to his secretary, who sobbed with pain. He smiled sympathetically.

"Go get yourself cleaned up and then head to my room. I'll be waiting."

Shakily getting to her feet, the secretary left the balcony, tears rolling down her face.

Akil turned to look out over his city again.

His city.

His country.

And soon, maybe, his world.

He walked back into his palace, to meet his defence secretary and to get rid of the Wreckers.

* * *

><p>"This Sam… he must have been close to them," Stacy said in a small voice.<p>

Since the battle at Los Angeles, most of the Autobots and humans were in mourning. They walked about as if in a daze, like most of them couldn't believe it had happened. Sam was no doubt dead, taken by Starscream into space. Although Stacy had never even heard of him, it seemed that he had been vitally important to HARP.

But not all of it.

"I didn't know him," Blazemaster spoke from above her, watching the silent form of Bumblebee sitting still at the back of the base, "But apparently he helped in our many struggles against the Decepticons; first in Mission City, then in Egypt. Without him, your world would have probably fallen under Megatron's rule long ago."

"And he's dead now."

"Yes. A hero shouldn't have to suffer that fate."

"…I know of another who did..."

"Hmm? Who?"

Stacy sighed.

"Back at the orphanage, shit happened. We became drug-runners, thieves and the older ones mugged in the night. And on that night there was not a star in the sky or a light in the dark. But I tagged along with a group of older kids who started spraying graffiti all over these apartments. And then one of the people who lived there came out with a shotgun. He was obviously too drunk to even speak, let alone think straight. The rest of the kids scarpered, but I was rooted to the spot with fear; I just couldn't move. The man, maddened at I don't know what, aimed both barrels at me."

She breathed hard.

"And then one of the kids came back. He stepped in front of me and the man. His name was Damien Jones and he was only thirteen at the time."

Blazemaster was fascinated. "And what happened?"

"The man blew Damien's head apart. I was covered in blood. The man stumbled away but was soon arrested and thrown in jail, but Damien was dead. He was an orphan, so no-one cared about him. The carers had eve forgotten his name. I only learned it from the coroner who took two weeks to identify the body. But… I learned something that day…"

"What?"

"The good guys don't win," Stacy almost sobbed, "You may watch it on TV or at the pictures, but the good guys never win. The bad guys don't win either… everyone just loses. And that's why I have high doubts that this war will ever be won."

"You humans are a fascinating species, full of love and hate. You number in countless millions and yet as someone dies every minute, you only mourn one. I can understand your grief… but I still don't understand your kind."

Stacy smiled and wiped a tear at her eye. "We're funny like that… you may look out on the world and see greedy people or violent people or all sorts of scum… but most people have good inside of them. Some people care."

* * *

><p>"And this does what?" Marcus asked, a quizzical look in his eye.<p>

"This," Randall Irving replied, "Is the Cerebral Visual Display."

Marcus had joined Randall Irving, HARP's chief scientist, in the command structure; Ryder had also joined them out of sheer boredom. Mason and Ishihara watched closely, two other people who were unaffected by Sam Witwicky's demise.

Marcus was unimpressed. "And what does it do?"

Randall sighed. He was a young technician who, in the aftermath of Frenzy's infiltration of the United States security network, had quickly joined the bandwagon of the dozens of hackers who had been eager to pick up the pieces. The FBI had quickly paid him a visit. But out of all the opportunistic hackers who had torn apart the defence network, he was by far the most intelligent and far surpassed anyone at the DIA. He was quickly hired by the NSA before moving onto HARP.

He looked Marcus up and down before pushing his glasses into place.

"A little project I helped DARPA on back when the guys here were busting up the pyramids; it's a virtual-imaging machine that reads your brain waves and displays your thought process on a large screen. It's a much more advanced form of electroencephalography… heh, MURI would just love to get their hands on this."

"Um… what?" Marcus asked, confused by the techno-babble.

Irving sighed again. He pointed at a strange headset connected to a large, comfy chair.

"That goes on your head. You think of something. Your thought is displayed on that"—he pointed at a large plasma screen on the wall—"and we get to see it. Get it?"

"But why me?"

"Apparently, you've been seeing transformers wreck about everywhere thanks to the Allspark fragment that spliced with your genes, which I believe makes you sense large or particularly bright sources of energon; so with this strange thought process, we could possibly locate Pillars or the Decepticons at any given time."

"So I'm not just here to be kept safe?" Marcus raised an eyebrow, questioning.

Irving smiled. "Sorry kid but if you're not throwing your weight, I'll show you the door."

"But there's one problem with this," Marcus remembered, "I won't be able to help; the visions come and go. I'd have to be in that machine at random times to help. Oh yeah; I was only able to pinpoint Thundercracker because I had seen a postcard of Rio, so it wouldn't help much if I saw a Pillar in the middle of the arctic."

"Well," Irving considered, "If we can't recognise where that Pillar is, then that's that. And to your theory of the visions coming and going, maybe if you just think of the vision you had, then maybe a new one will appear. Either way, you might as well try."

Marcus gritted his teeth and realised that he really should try to help the Autobots that were keeping him safe. So he lay back on the comfy, modern chair and waited nervously as Irving attached the CVD. As the strange, translucent, helmet-like Cerebral Visual Display fixed itself onto Marcus's head, Irving sat himself down in front of a computer screen.

"Neural connectivity… check," Irving sounded off.

Marcus licked his lips.

"Cerebral cortex repository link… check,"

Marcus felt his head go numb. It was a strange sensation.

"Visual cognitive memory successful… alright guys, it'll appear on the screen in three… two… one…"

From his position in the chair, Marcus couldn't turn his head to see the screen.

"Marcus, concentrate on the vision," Irving sighed, "Instead of trying to see the screen."

Marcus flung himself back into his mind, trying to think back…

And then it was as bright as day.

Thundercracker stood beside the once beautiful statue of the Redeemer, his cold red eyes surveying the city before him. His blue skin shone in the blazing sun, reflecting the light from the top of the hill. His fingers clenched with anticipation and frustration; he didn't want to be there, but had to be. He stared up at the sky as if seeing something out there…

Why did he have to be there? In the disgusting dirt and mud, among the disgusting, puerile little insects… oh how the mighty had fallen! He had been commander; the legions of Cybertron at his command! And now he was here, forgotten and doomed…

"My god… that's a Decepticon?" Marcus heard Irving ask.

"Thundercracker," Mason replied gruffly, "He beat over half the Autobots and broke open Optimus Prime himself."

"They didn't have human support," Kaminari nodded, "Although the Autobots are fearless and peerless fighters, they never could beat the Decepticons by themselves; they needed the humans to help them."

"But it's strange," Gerin said as she entered the room, "Because if the Autobots and the Decepticons ever joined forces, they could wipe us off the face of the Earth."

Marcus's heart fluttered at Gerin's entrance and her sweet, angelic voice. Thundercracker became fuzzy, as if out of focus.

"Marcus," Irving warned, "Keep focused."

"Don't be firm Randall," Gerin chastised, "Marcus is only a child and he will no doubt succeed in finding Thundercracker and the rest."

"What are you doing here Miss Rahb?" Mason asked, his voice firm as ever.

"I'm here to see if Randall's machine has any psychological effects on Marcus. If his brain's in a mess, then he won't be of much use to anybody, will he?"

"I assure you Miss Rahb," Irving replied irritably, "That no such thing can occur—"

"Silence!" Mason uttered, "Let the boy concentrate."

But Thundercracker had faded from Marcus's memory and a new image was cast up from the back of his mind.

"Come on," Irving urged, "Keep it together Marcus."

_He stood on the edge. Or was it the verge? He couldn't tell. And he couldn't tell what he was standing on anyway. His entire attention was on the battle before him._

"Wait," Kaminari muttered, "What's that?"

_Fires raged and explosions lit the blood-red sky. Twisted steel and ruined titanium littered the corpse-filled valley, a ruin and monument to death. Carrion circled and in the distance, a wolf howled. But in the valley, a figure stood triumphant._

"W-What is this?" Irving asked, nervous.

"Marcus," Gerin asked firmly, all concentration on him, "What is this? Where is this?"

Mason muttered. "This better not be happening now…"

_Black of colour and of shadow, this creature stood over the corpses like an artist over sculptures. His entire right arm was that of a cannon, and an eye the colour of gore shone out from his jet-black face. It stood immobile, a demon in hell._

"That's…" Kaminari whispered.

"Shockwave," Mason uttered, a scowl across his face.

"Where is he?" Gerin asked quickly, "Marcus, you need to tell us where this is happening!"

_It turned on Marcus and a chill ran down his spine._

To the four other people in the room, it stared from out of the screen.

"This can't be happening," Mason said firmly, the only one who didn't seem terrified by the creature on-screen, "This is just a child's nightmare."

"But how can it be a nightmare," Kaminari argued, "When he's never seen Shockwave before?"

"Listen Marcus," Gerin said to him, ignoring the others, "Think of positive thoughts; a smiling face, a hot sun, family…"

"It's not working," Irving said, almost panicking as Shockwave leered at them all, "Try something else!"

"Think of people you know; Stacy, Optimus Prime—"

On-screen, Shockwave raised an arm towards the screen. He was clutching something in his hand.

Marcus was sweating and crying. He seemed fixated on something far away.

"His pulse rate is off the charts!" Irving cried, "He might pass out!"

"Pump him with sedative," Mason sighed, "This was a foolish theory to begin with…"

"No, wait!" Kaminari interrupted, pointing at the screen.

Shockwave's fingers splayed, revealing what he was holding. A strange shape of twisted metal…

It was the head of Optimus Prime.

"Marcus, look at me," Gerin warned, staring the boy in the eye, "Look at me; think of nothing else!"

But Marcus only heard one thing.

_**I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU—**_

"Marcus!" Gerin cried.

"That's it," Mason sighed, "Pull the plug."

_**We must not waste time with petty emotions. We must use the child… but he might be aware of our presence. And we can only allow that when we have full control—**_

_**I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU**_

_**ENOUGH! The large one will throw us away; we must use little Marcus to our advantage… when our prison is destroyed, then we will have our revenge…**_

_**Ah… it is beautiful… but also a curse… to have finally grasped the world as we see it, only for it to be plainly observed through the eyes of a tiny organism!**_

_**But this organism will be the key to our… resurrection.**_

_**So for now… we can only break free, if we allow ourselves to be prisoners.**_

…_**So be it.**_

And then Marcus saw something else entirely.

A desert.

A road.

And three heavily-armed stock cars.

"What the—"

"The Wreckers," Mason snarled, "Those insubordinate bastards… but it seems they're in the Middle East, as ordered."

"You mean…" Irving asked, "This is happening now?"

"Yes," Marcus whispered, "I can see them. And the tanks."

"Tanks?" Gerin inquired.

"There are several tanks heading towards them from the west," Marcus muttered, "They have orders to destroy the Wreckers."

"Shit," Mason muttered, "As much as those guys are assholes, it looks like we'll have to save them. Irving, where are they?"

Irving had already sprinted his fingers across the keyboard.

"Well, matching the geographical climate, position of the sun, rock formations, etc. a US weather satellite has confirmed that it is... 45 miles from the city of Mekka in Audi Sarabia, Middle East."

"I know it's in the Middle East," Mason replied tersely, "Move the Autobots off their asses, wipe their tears and get them down there!"

"Yes sir," Irving muttered irritably, pulling out a communicator to speak with Colonel Lennox.

"Miss Rahb," Mason turned his attention to the psychologist, "Get Marcus out of that machine and send him over to the medical centre. Make sure he's alright; we'll need his brain in future."

As Gerin removed Marcus from the CVD, Kaminari frowned.

"He was simply spliced with an Allspark fragment; he should have no knowledge of events on the other side of the world, nor have any idea of who the Wreckers are."

"It doesn't matter," Mason replied gruffly, "Because if the Decepticons don't know about him, then we'll be one step ahead."

* * *

><p>"<em>It doesn't matter; because if the Decepticons don't know about him, then we'll be one step ahead."<em>

Thousands of miles above the Earth, Soundwave allowed himself a small smile.

_Fools… to think that placing yourself underground and surrounding yourself with inferior materials would stop me. The boy is puzzling, yet interesting… I may have to acquire him myself._

"Starscream."

"_What is it Soundwave?" _the voice at the other end spat.

"You consist of just Ruination, Space Case and yourself, correct?"

"_Yes; Barricade had to be returned to the natural satellite because he was too heavily injured."_

"You will have to hurry up; the Autobots are on their way."

"_But you said—!"_

"There was an unforeseen development in the situation; I must review it. Until I complete my assessment, you must recover the Pillar."

"_I know what to do!"_

"Then complete your mission. Do not fail."

"_Who are you to tell me—?"_

Soundwave cut him off.

_As long as Starscream does not foul up, we shall continue down the road to victory._

* * *

><p>"This place is really shit!" Leadfoot cried loudly in a deep, lazy voice as he transformed.<p>

The squat, rotund Autobot looked around him. He'd never seen something so barren. Even the wastes of Cybertron had some life in them, but here there was nothing. Just microscopic rocks, worn down by the millions of years and the strange weather that had passed. The only sign of life was on the road; the three Wreckers and a scorpion which Roadbuster was peering at closely.

"Whatcha looking at Roadbuster?" Leadfoot shouted, waddling over to his friend.

"What the insects call an insect," Roadbuster answered, "And it really is tiny."

"Why should you care about the organic wastes of this planet?" Topspin, the third Wrecker, argued, "We should be looking into Akil Farrah!"

"Huh?" Leadfoot grunted.

"He's the insect in charge of this dusty shithole," Topspin spat, "Apparently, he's a real bastard."

"How?" Roadbuster asked, turning his attention from the scorpion.

Topspin half sighed, half growled. "Don't either of you two even look into this world we live on? Farrah's supposed to be a real bad war criminal, the kind of guy who wastes his own hives for mere amusement. While we're in this country, we better keep an eye on him."

"Why don't we just belt him one?" Leadfoot snarled, "Or call in the humans to get rid of him?"

"Because General Mason reprimanded us," Topspin spat, "For what we did in Vietnam."

"Hey, Astrotrain was gonna destroy that foundry!" Roadbuster argued.

"Yeah, but apparently how we saved the insects didn't fit in with the 'political climate' that fat bastard described to us!" Topspin snarled, "So he kicked us down here to investigate Farrah. Apparently, those two have history."

"I've a mind to give some weapons to this Farrah guy," Leadfoot spat venomously, "If he likes Mason as much as we do."

"Don't worry; that sweaty organic will get his comeuppance," Topspin growled, "But until then, we tour Audi Sarabia for information about any wrongdoings."

Just then, a huge clump of desert exploded upwards in front of Topspin.

"What the fuck was that?" Roadbuster roared, leaping to his feet, spinning around.

Topspin peered into the distance.

"Hey, I think it's one of those… uh… tanks, I think."

"An insect cannon?" Leadfoot asked.

"With treads," Roadbuster spat.

"Then let's kill 'em!" Leadfoot cried gleefully.

"Are you an idiot?" Topspin glanced angrily at Leadfoot, "We're under strict orders from Optimus not to harm a single human out here; you know how he is."

Another huge clump of sand exploded near Topspin, showering him with dirt and a splattered scorpion.

"Good thing they can't shoot for shit," Roadbuster laughed, "Or I'd be the last Wrecker left in the galaxy!"

"They're firing at us!" Leadfoot cried, "We need to destroy 'em!"

Topspin grumbled something under his breath.

"I guess neither of you know how to speak Arabic?" he asked.

Leadfoot and Roadbuster looked at him with blank faces.

"Great," he huffed, "Looks like we'll have to scare them away with force."

Transforming, the three stock cars drove across the sandy dunes, guns blazing.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, many miles to the north, three others transformed and landed with pitch-perfect accuracy.<p>

"What are we doing here Starscream?" Ruination huffed.

"Silence!" Starscream said, silencing him, "We are here to collect an artefact of ancient Cybertronian technology, a Pillar used in Sentinel's plan at the human nest."

"I know," Ruination replied gruffly, "I was there."

"And where exactly?" Starscream spat, turning on him, "Where were you when the fighting was thickest?"

"Running away," Ruination replied, his arms folded in defence, "Which was more than could be said for you."

"What was that?" Starscream snarled, "Explain yourself!"

"I ran; I survived. You stayed; you died. Pit, I even managed to get Barricade out alive, 'cause I knew he was a much better leader then Decepticons like you!"

"You are nothing more than a coward and a deserter; you should be executed for what you've done!"

"You're one to speak on cowardice, Starscream!" Ruination roared, "I bet the only cybertronians you've ever killed you've attacked from behind or taken by surprise! You're the one who deserves to be executed—oh wait! I remember; wasn't it a mere insect that brought you down?"

Starscream recoiled as if struck. But he rounded with fury in his optics and grabbed Ruination by the throat. The other Decepticon made no attempt to stop him.

"Now let me tell you something Ruination," he muttered, "I. Am. Alive. And when I released the insect that killed me into space, I swore to myself I would win. I would survive. And while we are on this Earth, you will follow my orders. And if you do, we will survive."

At such a melodramatic outburst, Ruination would normally have laughed. But he looked into Starscream's optics and saw someone filled with determination and ruthlessness.

Meanwhile, Space Case looked up in something akin to frightened reverence.

"Commander Starscream!" he cried, falling to his knees and bowing his head into the sand, "I will follow your orders!"

"Rise," Starscream said, looking down at him.

"I don't get you Starscream," Ruination spoke, his arms still folded, "But I'll follow you… for now."

"Excellent," Starscream mused, a triumphant look on his face, "Ah… it seems he has arrived."

A jeep roared over the desert, as if the dunes and rises weren't there. It sped towards the three Decepticons like a bat out of hell.

When it finally sped to a whiplash inducing brake, four occupants got out. Three dizzily stumbled into the desert while the driver leapt onto the sand with a cold face and dark eyes. He looked up at Space Case.

"You Starscream?" the man called up to him.

"Me?" Space Case flustered, pointing at himself, "Uh, no."

"I'm Starscream!" Starscream roared, "I'm the one in charge!"

The man looked from Space Case to Starscream.

"You don't look like a leader," the man shrugged, "You need a trident; tridents are more impressive."

Starscream was fuming. "Are you the insect named Farrah?" he snarled.

"No, I am Colonel Ayidah, sent by President Akil Farrah in his stead," the man replied, "I have been ordered to take you to the Pillar's location."

"What?" Starscream shouted, "I was told I was going to meet with Farrah!"

"There have been unforeseen complications," Ayidah spoke smoothly, "There are a trio of Autobots to the south; Farrah is overseeing their demise."

Starscream muttered something under his breath. _Damn you Soundwave, what have you dumped on my shoulders?_

"This is unacceptable," Starscream spoke proudly, "Where is Farrah?"

"I am not at liberty to disclose the location of—"

With one quick movement, Starscream crushed the colonel underfoot, causing the remaining humans to gasp.

"Insolent worm!" the air commander roared. He then turned his attention to the others.

"Where is Farrah?"

"M-Mekka!" one of the terrified soldiers answered.

"WHERE IS MEKKA?"

The soldier pointed to the south-west. "T-That w-w-way."

The Decepticons quickly transformed and flew into the sky, but not before Starscream had crushed the jeep.

The soldiers watched them disappear into the horizon.

One asked, "ما مشكلته؟"

Another responded, وقال "عندما كنت قوية مثل الله، سوف نبدأ في التفكير كنت واحدا".

* * *

><p>"Alright, listen up!" Lennox shouted to the scrambling HARP troops, who waited in front of him, "We have confirmed reports that the Wreckers are under attack. But unlike usual, we believe they are under attack by Audi Sarabia armour."<p>

"Tanks sir?" asked Lieutenant Gabriel Robertson, "Sounds like a walk in the park compared to the Decepticons."

"And satellite feed has seen an F-22 flying over the desert, heading towards Mekka."

Robertson shrugged. "Maybe it's a Pentagon operation—"

"It was accompanied by a Su-47 Firkin and a V-22 Osprey that was flying as fast as the jets."

"Ah."

"So it's not just some barmy warlord's tanks?" Epps asked, "The Decepticons are there too; why?"

"In all probability, they're working with Akil Farrah," Lennox mused, "Probably just to trap the Wreckers and destroy them. So we're going in, against humans."

"Haven't done that for a while," Epps muttered.

"I relish different opposition," came Mirage's voice. The short Autobot looked down on the HARP troopers. "Sometimes just beating Decepticons gets boring."

"Watch your mouth," Robertson warned, "It's humans who rule this planet and you're glad that you get to kill some?"

"Was I talking to you?" Mirage sneered, "No, I wasn't. So keep out of others conversations."

"Shut up!" Lennox ordered, "You two are allies, so at least act like some and let's go find the Wreckers; try to keep casualties to a minimum."

He turned to Mirage. "That understood?"

Mirage smiled. "Sure thing, boss."

As the arrogant Autobot turned and walked to Optimus, Epps stared at his back.

"With friends like these…" he mused.

* * *

><p>Charlotte Mearing stared at General Mason and Optimus Prime through a large plasma screen. Mason sat comfortably while Optimus peered in through the open window in the command structure.<p>

"Charles, I sincerely hope this operation isn't for personal reasons," Charlotte sighed, "Especially as the Wreckers are there as well and that HARP has no jurisdiction outside of member nations. The nearest HARP nation is Jordan and that's many, many miles from Mekka."

"We have practically confirmed reports that three Decepticons are on location, one of them being Starscream; the one who witnesses claim killed Sam Witwicky," Mason argued, "He is also one of the highest ranking Decepticons alive; his capture or destruction would greatly help HARP."

"If wind of the Wreckers being there without jurisdiction was ever globally known, it would cause a riot in Washington," Charlotte warned, "And once again, I must digress, this better not be for what happened twenty years ago."

"Of course not!" Mason blustered, "I've put that all behind me; this is a strictly professional job. We rescue the Wreckers, investigate Starscream's presence and then leave."

Charlotte peered down at him through her glasses. She straightened herself.

"I want this wrapped up in a day, Charles," she ordered, "You are not to lay a hand on Farrah, understand?"

"Yes ma'am!" Mason replied with a cheeky smile, saluting.

Charlotte glared at him before the screen turned black.

Optimus stared at the general. "What happened twenty years ago?"

Mason sighed.

"Back in the good old days, there was a king who ruled Audi Sarabia. Needless to say, he was a bastard. But in his army, he had an incredibly smart colonel by the name of Akil Farrah, whose mastery of war was matched only by his ambition. He came to the USA with stories of genocide, prejudicial killings, ethnic cleansings and mass starvation. He explained that the king had to go and the country should be replaced with democracy; a president. Congress lapped up the idea like hungry dogs and dispatched a task force to take the country back. They planned to put Farrah in as the new president.

"As soon as I saw him, I knew he couldn't be trusted. He was a slimy little shit who would sell his own grandma to kiss the feet of his betters, before stabbing them in the back. He took command of the rebel forces while I took the marines. We beat back the king's army again and again until we arrived at a mountain pass, just before Mekka. Akil assumed that the king's army would be waiting in the mountains, so he 'bravely' decided to go through the mountains while we went around.

"It was an ambush. My command was slaughtered by the king's troops while Farrah's rebels took a hike. We were quickly surrounded and cut off, our aircraft shot out of the sky, our troops gunned down. It all looked hopeless until he arrived. Farrah's rebels hit them from behind, routing them.

"And when I finally came face-to-face with him on that stinking battlefield, with my gun empty and blood trailing down my cheek, he looked at me with a grin and said something I would never forget—

"'You alright there, general?'"

Mason had turned an ugly shade of purple.

"He had known exactly where the king's forces were and had led me into a trap. I'll never forget the look on his face, that arrogant grin, that smug aura of victory… five days later, he was president and the old king was dead. Five years later and he was as bad a war criminal as his predecessor."

"I don't understand," Optimus admitted, "Why haven't member nations gone after him since then?"

"Politics on this planet are fickle and so are the people. In the end, it would come down to public support; Farrah was smart in his defection because he went to the media immediately after telling us of what the old king had done. Soon, the nation was crying out for resolution.

"But no-one in America nowadays cares or knows enough about it and they certainly don't want another foul up like in Iraq. It's pathetic really," Mason sighed, "How some people are."

Optimus looked at Mason, as if reading a book.

"You really do care about this planet," Optimus said knowingly.

"Pardon?" Mason suddenly asked, as if coming out of a dream.

"Never mind, we need to get to the Middle East. Blazemaster's informed me that the Pillars are ready and I wouldn't mind a little vengeance of myself on Starscream."

Mason smiled. "In that we are alike, alien."

"Agreed, human."

Mason laughed. "Then get your ass in gear soldier! Gut those snakes!"

* * *

><p>"FARRAH!" Starscream roared, crushing a house underfoot, "GET OUT HERE, YOU COWARD!"<p>

Ruination blasted apart a garage with a laser while Space Case threw a car into a park.

"PATHETIC WEAKLINGS!" Starscream roared again, demolishing a mosque with a missile, "FACE ME!"

He noticed a slight tickling at his ankle and looked down.

A police officer was firing at his leg, while his partner forced everyone down the street, trying to get them away from the homicidal aliens. Starscream leaned over to look at him, causing the man to fall back onto the road in terror.

"You would die protecting your people?" Starscream asked in their language.

The man, too frightened to speak, nodded.

"Where. Is. Farrah?"

The man pointed behind him towards the huge palace in the centre of the city.

Starscream turned to the others.

"Let's not waste time here," he spoke, "Farrah's hiding in his citadel."

"Then let's flush him out," Space Case jabbered eagerly.

A roaring could be heard, getting closer.

"The humans' have scrambled their air force," Ruination noted, "There are only three of us; we should hurry."

Starscream laughed. "On a bad day, I could wipe out every so-called air force on this planet!" he boasted, "They are nothing!"

Transforming, they flew towards the centre.

The police officer was left stunned, but alive.

And he wondered why.

* * *

><p>"Starscream, what are you doing?" Soundwave said angrily.<p>

"_Collecting the Pillar and killing Farrah."_

"You will not eliminate my contacts," Soundwave uttered with menace, "Optimus Prime will be there soon, with insurmountable Autobot reinforcements. Retrieve the Pillar and fall back."

"_HE SENT AN INSECT FLUNKY INSTEAD!" _Starscream roared from the planet below, _"I've never been more humiliated… you can keep your lo__ve for the insects if you wish, but Farrah is mine!"_

"Starscream, you don't understand—"

"_You insect lover—!"_

"LISTEN!" Soundwave raised his voice, a thunder where no sound could be heard, "DO NOT DARE CROSS ME! I SEE YOU FROM THE COSMOS, ACTING A FOOL IN THAT NEST; IN A NANOSECOND I COULD HAVE YOU DESTROYED! I WATCH THE WORLD FROM THIS POSITION AND I CONTROL EVERY ASPECT; DO NOT DARE CROSS ME OR YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE THAT DESERT ALIVE!"

On the planet below, Starscream stopped his wanton destruction and stared, shocked, at the ground. Space Case and Ruination turned to watch their commander, confusion on their faces.

_Sheep… apply the right level of threat and force and you can get whatever you want. I am neither blind nor deaf; my level of control is simply… immeasurable._

"You will approach Farrah and demand the Pillar; he will give its location. Retrieve it and then return to the moon. Those are your orders and _you will carry them out_."

There was silence.

And then:

"_Affirmative, Soundwave."_

They made their way towards the centre with renewed purpose.

_Three fools carving a path of fire… into the heart of a slumbering beast. Let us see if they get out alive…_

_Only those lucky enough or quick enough will, _Laserbeak replied.

_You don't believe in fate?_

_Do you?_

_I believe I carve out others' fates._

_And who carves out yours?_

_Whoever will eventually kill me._

_That won't happen._

_How do you know?_

_Because I'll carve out his fate._

* * *

><p>Marcus looked up at the slouched Autobot.<p>

"Y-You're not going with them?" he asked.

Bumblebee did not even turn his head. He kept staring at the floor.

"It seems some colossi can feel for insects," came a voice, "And not just for their own petty war."

Marcus turned to see Ryder gazing up at the transformer in mourning, a lit cigarette in his mouth, smoke curling from his lips.

"Ryder," Marcus said, coldly, "Why don't you just dig a hole and jump in it?"

"Because even if I did that, this sad sack of yellow shit would still be weeping and the world would keep on turning. So I needn't bother."

"_Why don't you just die?_" Marcus snarled, as something came over him.

Ryder looked down at Marcus then and, through his sunglasses, stared into his soul with a withering glance. He breathed smoke into Marcus' face, who didn't even flinch.

"You want me to die?" Ryder asked, "Die? Kid, don't fool yourself into thinking that you can threaten me with words; only by acting, can you crush people. I'll give you an example; watch."

The chamber filled with blue light.

"Alright guys!" Blazemaster called, "An express ticket straight to a desert tank battle; one way."

As Optimus and co. began to file towards the blue light, Ryder strode up towards them.

"Where are you going?" Marcus asked as Optimus walked into the light, followed by Lennox, HARP and the Autobots.

Ryder began to jog.

"Hey!" Kaminari called, "Ryder!"

Ryder broke into a sprint.

"Oh shit," Mason muttered, "Someone tackle that kid!"

But it was too late; Ryder ran straight into the light of the Pillars, just as they closed.

"You gotta be kidding me," Mason snarled, "This day just gets better and better."

* * *

><p>"RARGH!" Leadfoot roared, slamming himself into a tank while gripping it under the treads and lifting. It rolled right over.<p>

Roadbuster slammed a fist into the barrel of another.

"Go on; fire. I dare ya."

The crew of the tank quickly vacated.

Topspin tore the turret off another before several blue flashes lit up his optics.

"What the—?"

"Humans of Audi Sarabia," Optimus Prime called out to the nearby tanks, "Surrender; NOW."

They hesitated.

"He's giving you one chance," Mirage said, readying his blades, "Don't waste it."

Then, slowly, the crews of the tanks began to climb out, hands in the air, surrendering.

"Well," Blazemaster noted, "That was anti-climatic."

"If the humans try to surrender, Blazemaster," Optimus replied, "It is their right to. We will not deny them their right to live."

"Yeah," Topspin grunted, "We reserve that for guys like Megatron."

As the HARP soldiers began to secure the surrendering troops, Optimus and the Wreckers gazed into the sunset.

"What's going on, boss?" Topspin asked.

"We believe the warlord of this country has allied with the Decepticons, most notably Starscream."

"That slimy shit couldn't ally himself with a rat if he wished!" Roadbuster laughed, "Only an idiot would trust Starscream!"

"This isn't the first time he's allied with corrupt humans," Optimus remembered, "Looks like he's up to his old tricks."

"And he's the one who killed Sam, right?" Leadfoot asked, "He seemed like a good kid."

Optimus's face grew colder and harder. His gaze intensified.

"Starscream won't leave this Earth alive—"

"_Optimus!"_

"Ratchet?" Optimus called back to base, "What is it?"

"_We have a problem…"_

"Are you under attack?"

"_Worse; apparently the kid named Ryder went through the Pillars after you—"_

"HE WHAT?"

"_I'm sorry Optimus, but he was a quick little—"_

"Lennox!" Optimus called to the HARP colonel.

"What is it?" William Lennox replied.

"Ryder came through the Pillars; where is he?"

"HE WHAT?"

"Exactly," Optimus sighed, "This is a problem…"

"What's our objective Optimus?" Sideswipe asked.

"We have two primary; find Ryder and destroy the Decepticons. He couldn't have gotten far; Mirage and Lt Robertson's team will comb the area for him while the rest of us make our way to the city of Mekka."

"What?" Mirage cried, outraged, "You're sending me to look for a little insect runt?"

"Orders are orders, Mirage," Robertson frowned, "We don't question them."

But Mirage ignored him, stalking away from the remains of the tank battle.

"Geez, what _i__s_ his problem?" Epps asked.

"He is young and new here," Optimus said, "But he must adapt to change, as we all must do; if we do not adapt to change, we will be left behind in the scrap yard of history."

* * *

><p>"So, uh, who do you work for?" Marcus asked.<p>

"The Decepticons," Fearswoop replied, "Duh."

Marcus and Stacy looked at the Decepticon prisoner who was enchained behind a near impenetrable force-field. Since his capture, Fearswoop had not shut-up.

"Yeah, but who in particular?" Marcus asked.

"Megatron… duh."

"I find your tone of voice offensive," Stacy replied, a frown on her voice.

"Oh, don't get me started on offensive; while stuck in here, I've been surfing the internet and found out a lot about your species biological traits…"

"What are you talking about?" Marcus asked, confused.

"Hey, kid," Fearswoop grinned, "What's worse for a man then having termites in his piano?"

"Uh, what?"

"Crabs on his organ!" Fearswoop roared with laughter.

"You know," Stacy said, wrinkling her nose, "The sewers were cleaner then that joke."

"Hey?" Marcus whirled on her, "I don't get it!"

"Then don't ask."

"Hey, little girl," Fearswoop grinned, "What's the difference between a fridge and a woman?"

"Don't—"

"The fridge doesn't fart when you pull your meat out!"

"That's it," Stacy snarled, turning towards the command structure, "I will do all in my power to get you executed."

"What's the matter sweetcheeks?" Fearswoop whooped after her, "Can't take a joke?"

When Stacy was out of earshot, Marcus grinned.

"_That one was actually pretty good,_" he whispered.

"Want to hear another?" Fearswoop leered.

"As long as it isn't about men. And I can understand it."

"Ok here it is; what happened the last time I was imprisoned by you people?"

Marcus frowned. "I don't know."

"Everyone here died and I escaped scot-free. And what makes it even better is that when I died, I was put back together by you people and was therefore resurrected as a result."

"That's not funny," Marcus said angrily.

"Oh believe me," Fearswoop cackled, leering with twisted malice and sadistic intent, "_I_ find that funny."

* * *

><p>Underneath the covers, his secretary whispered.<p>

"They're coming for your head."

Farrah smiled a brilliant array of white teeth.

"Does that make you happy?"

His secretary said nothing.

"You can speak; after all, if they're coming for my head, what you say now doesn't matter."

"I won't speak on account of the fact that you might survive."

"So my fate isn't sealed?"

"…No."

"Because you know I'm a survivor," Farrah chuckled, "No matter what god from heaven above arrives, he won't kill me."

"Your arrogance will be your undoing."

Farrah threw back the covers and walked towards the balcony. He started singing.

"War, huh, yeah! What is it good for?"

He reached the balcony and smiled up.

"Absolutely nothing."

Starscream looked down with unconcealed hate at him. He was silhouetted against the descending sun, a malevolent figure in the dusk. Akil Farrah stared up with unconcealed awe.

"Insect," Starscream spat, "You are naked."

"So are you," Farrah replied with a smile.

"I am not so frail as to be embarrassed of my own body," Starscream snarled.

"Neither am I. Who are you?"

"WHO AM I?" Starscream repeated, enraged, "DID SOUNDWAVE NOT TELL YOU?"

"Nah, he sent his little vulture bitch to tell me that three Decepticons would be here to collect my Pillar."

"IT IS NOT YOUR PILLAR!"

"Yes it is," Farrah argued, "You guys lost it; I found it. Finders, keepers."

Starscream paused in his rage to look away and talk to Soundwave.

"Soundwave, do you honestly have no idea where this Pillar is?"

"_This country is considered technologically backward even by human standards, so there is little I can do to locate it. Farrah has managed to keep radio silence over its location anyway."_

"Why not just interrogate him?"

"_Because I prefer to keep allies instead of corpses. Plus, I'm enjoying your argument to much to bother having him tortured."_

"You're listening in?"

"_And watching. Ruination is keeping an open channel, allowing me to listen, while a Russian spy satellite breathes down your neck."_

Not giving Ruination the satisfaction of a glance, Starscream turned to Farrah, even angrier.

"Listen Farrah; have you ever heard of a human named Bruno Carrera?"

"No."

"He was a human I worked with a few years ago. He failed me. That is why you have never heard of him and no-one ever will again."

"Oh."

"And you remind me of him."

"Sorry to hear that," Farrah shrugged, "But I have leverage and by the sound of it, Bruno had nothing but balls. So I'm in a better position. Also, I trust that Soundwave wished for me to be left alive."

Starscream almost exploded with rage. But Farrah pointed behind him.

"But if you're feeling angry, try venting it out on them."

Starscream turned, to see something very unwelcome on the edge of town.

Against the trickle of light from setting sun, stood the silhouettes of many Autobots.

Blazemaster, Roadbuster, Leadfoot, Topspin, Sideswipe, Arcee, Chromia and Optimus Prime.

"Uh, Starscream!" Space Case panicked, "There are a lot of them!"

"I advise retreat—" Ruination began.

"YOU ADVISE NOTHING!" Starscream roared, "OPTIMUS WILL RUE THE DAY HE WENT UP AGAINST STARSCREAM!"

"Are you mad?" Ruination cried out, "We'll die!"

"TAKE ONE STEP BACK AND I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Starscream shouted with fury, "WE WILL DESTROY THE AUTOBOTS AND WE WILL NOT LEAVE THIS PLANET UNTIL I HAVE THAT PILLAR!"

Ruination and Space Case looked at each other, aghast.

"Now…" Starscream whispered…

"CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!"

* * *

><p>"Uh, Optimus?" Lennox inquired, "Starscream's charging us."<p>

"His troops seem as shocked as us," Arcee noted.

"I don't know what's pissed him off," Sideswipe said as he readied his blades, "But he ain't beating me."

"Right you are, Sideswipe," Optimus replied, readying his blades, "And debts have to be repaid."

Epps nodded. "For Sam."

"For Sam," Chromia nodded.

The eight Autobots and hundred human HARP taskforce stood against an axe-crazy Decepticon and a couple of weary ones.

"CHARGE!" Optimus roared.

And battle began.

* * *

><p>"That little shit!" Mirage shouted, exasperated, "We'll spend all night trying to find his ugly hide. I swear, when I get my hands on him…"<p>

"No-one wants to hear it Mirage," Robertson sighed, "So give it a rest and let's spread out the perimeter."

But Mirage was having none of it. In a flash he stood over the lieutenant and stared down with cold, blue eyes.

"I ain't taking no orders from a human," he muttered, "So repeat what you just said and let's see what I do."

But Gabriel Robertson was having none of it. He looked back up.

"No-one wants to hear it Mirage!" he shouted up, "So give it a rest and let's spread out the perimeter!"

Mirage raised a foot and Robertson's squad raised their weapons.

"Don't be a fool Mirage," Robertson frowned, "These are Optimus's orders, not mine. We find this kid and then we all go home happy."

Mirage spat some gastric acid onto the sand and lowered his foot onto the ground.

"I have no home!" he roared.

He turned and stalked up a sand dune, the stars shining bright over them all.

"He's dangerous sir," one of the soldier's whispered, "Optimus shouldn't take him on these missions."

"No…" Robertson argued, "He's a man… just a man. He's just the same as us, but without a home or a family. He's a prisoner on this world, without a hope for escape."

Mirage stood upon the desert and looked up at the moon.

Out in the Sinai, he dreamed a mirage of his own.

* * *

><p>Leadfoot was smashed backwards, limbs flailing.<p>

Topspin was smashed into a house, the occupants crushed underneath.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Starscream roared, cutting off Roadbuster's arm with his circular saw. The Autobot screamed in pain as Arcee smashed into Starscream's side.

"I WON'T LOSE TO YOU AGAIN!" she screamed, swinging her serrated blade like a madman.

"SILENCE!" he roared, smacking her away, just as Chromia blasted off his saw.

He roared again just as Optimus joined the battle, swinging his blades in an arc of impending death. Starscream leapt back, smacking Optimus's blades back, using his jets to get away from Optimus's whirling swords.

"You're getting slow Optimus!" Starscream taunted as Optimus missed again, "Blackout was faster!"

"You killed Sam!" Optimus cried and threw a sword at Starscream. It glanced off his shoulder, causing him to wince in pain.

"He killed me!" Starscream cried in response, "All's fair in hate and war!"

Optimus struck upwards, slicing at Starscream's chin, causing him to rock backwards. But Optimus wasn't done, lashing out with a kick that brought Starscream to the ground with a crash like that of an earthquake.

Starscream looked up to see a blade at his neck.

"Today, Starscream, you will at last die and never return—"

Something barrelled Optimus over like a cannonball, sending him crashing into Blazemaster.

"Commander Starscream!" Space Case called, "I knocked down Optimus Prime!"

"Good, now kill him!"

"Uh, kill Optimus Prime?"

"Thundercracker left him for dead without laying a finger on him!" Starscream roared, "Finish him!"

But Optimus leapt up and tackled Space Case to the ground, just as Ruination arrived to fight Sideswipe.

Starscream leapt to his feet as well, to be faced with Blazemaster and the Wreckers.

"Fine then," he muttered, "COME ON!"

They slammed into each other in a whirlwind of blades and fists.

* * *

><p>Akil Farrah had just finished putting on his socks, just as he loaded his Playstation 4 into a suitcase.<p>

"You're leaving?" his secretary asked fearfully from behind him.

"It's like my father used to say; 'Son, when your city becomes a robot stomping ground, GTFO.'"

"Where will you go?"

Farrah smiled his cocky grin. "I heard of this lovely little villa in Italy, built on the site of one that burnt down in a fire—"

He heard a gun cocking.

He turned around, the smile leaving his lips.

His secretary held a revolver. She was pointing it straight at him.

"Sorry sir, but you have to die."

Farrah smiled fleetingly. "Now listen baby, I'm not that bad…"

"I'm sorry sir," his secretary smiled in return, "But this is the end of the line."

And only then did Akil realise what a fool he'd been. How, despite his planning and scheming and his know-it-all attitude, he had forgotten what his father really had taught him.

"_Son, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… or if she works for a genocidal maniac."_

A single shot rang out across the room.

* * *

><p>Ruination's left hand was removed by a brilliant slice from Sideswipe.<p>

Space Case was forced back by Optimus, who was repeatedly jabbed in the face by Space Case's trident.

Starscream kicked the one-armed Roadbuster in the face, sending him flying again. Blazemaster brought Starscream low with a punch to the abdomen.

"Your pathetic mockery of a life ends now Starscream!" he cried.

Starscream responded by nutting him and sweeping his leg, just as Topspin placed a missile in his back.

Starscream roared with pain and fell to one knee. He looked up to the sky.

"Soundwave… I-I need… r-reinforcements…"

"_I am sorry Starscream, but my forces are preoccupied. There are none available."_

"W-What?"

"_Goodbye Starscream."_

Starscream thought he saw triumph in the fires of those stars. They gazed down on him, awaiting his death. They seemed to be laughing.

Topspin fired another missile.

"SOOOOOUNDWAVE!"

* * *

><p>Carly stood over the grave.<p>

The flowers waited by it.

His parents had visited too many times. This was Carly's first after the funeral.

_He… he's gone… and what was it all for? Revenge… revenge for a war he wasn't supposed to be involved with anyway._

She looked up at the grey sky. The rain fell on her face.

_But why? Why did he have to go? He was a hero…_

"Are you Carly Spencer?"

Carly looked up through the tears and the rain to see a tall man, covered head to toe by a black raincoat with gloves and black fedora hat. He held a hand behind his back.

"Y-Yes. Why?"

"I am sorry, but Harbinger has deemed you disposable."

* * *

><p>The secretary stared at him.<p>

Farrah stared at her.

And then, slowly, the secretary fell to her knees and then sank to the floor.

Behind her, on the dining table, Laserbeak smiled gleefully with a smoking tail.

"Packing so soon Farrah?" it cackled.

Farrah gulped with fear.

"Soundwave does not wish to waste any more time," it spoke nasally, "So if you tell me the location of the Pillar, I will kill you quickly."

"Now listen Laserbeak," Farrah said quickly, trying to buy time, moving towards the balcony, "I found something better; ten Pillars!"

"So tell me where they are!"

"Well, that's the thing see, I kind of need to take you to them…"

Laserbeak laughed. "Waste all the time you want Farrah; it's borrowed anyway."

"Well then may I borrow this?" a new voice asked.

Laserbeak spun around, only for an urn to come crashing down onto his head.

"I knew this would come in handy someday," said the voice again as he brought a sledgehammer down on Laserbeak's spine.

Screaming with pain, Laserbeak laboured into the air before crashing out onto the balcony and fleeing into the sky. His painful howls echoed through the night.

Farrah turned with shock to his saviour.

"Guys like you," Ryder said, sunglasses on, cigarette in mouth, "Are the worst kind of scum."

"Who the hell are you?" Farrah asked.

"The guy who knocked out your guards and dropped your urn on that angry bird's head."

"My urn?" Farrah cried, "That contained the ashes of my predecessor!"

"Really? Why would you have that?"

"It's traditional; I never really liked the guy. I should know, as I overthrew him."

"So you are Akil Farrah."

"No, I'm Frankenstein."

"Good one. But next time, don't use sarcasm on the guy with the sledgehammer."

As if to prove his point, Ryder knocked out the dictator with the hammer.

* * *

><p>All of a sudden, Topspin was blown back.<p>

Starscream gazed around in wonder as the Autobots were suddenly thrown into disarray.

"What the—?"

All of a sudden, a huge blue figure dropped in-between Starscream and Blazemaster.

"Not one step closer Autobot," Thundercracker snarled.

Faced with the much larger threat of the Seeker, Blazemaster didn't move.

"Sire," said Flatline as he shot several lasers at the sisters, "I believe it is time to retreat."

Ruination butted in. "What about the Pillar—?"

"Screw the Pillar!" Space Case roared, transforming, "I wanna live!"

"I don't believe I'm saying this," Starscream sighed, "But let's follow Space Case's plan."

"I second that," Flatline agreed, transforming and shooting off into the night.

As they lay down suppressive fire, Ruination, Thundercracker and eventually Starscream transformed and screeched into the night.

"I'll be back Optimus!" Starscream roared, "You'll see!"

He disappeared into the sky.

The Autobots were left dazed and confused in the ruins of the outer city.

"Uh, Optimus?" Arcee asked, "Did we win?"

"The Decepticons have retreated and despite a few injuries, we have no casualties," Optimus acknowledged, "So yes, I do believe we've won."

"But why were the Decepticons here? What were they here for?"

Optimus frowned. "That is exactly what I want to find out."

He started to walk into the city.

"And I know exactly who to question."

* * *

><p>When HARP finally reached Farrah's palace, they found a most unexpected sight.<p>

On the balcony, sitting on Farrah's unconscious body, with sledgehammer in hand, was Ryder.

"Ryder!" Lennox shouted up angrily, "What the hell have you done?"

"Me?" Ryder repeated, "Why, Colonel Lennox, I believe I've delivered us a victory. You all look a bit banged up and without any Decepticons to show for it, while I have one very much alive asshole dictator to make a show of in The Hague. Therefore, what this kid has just done, is given you a result."

Farrah groaned loudly, so Ryder belted him over the head again.

"You took a great risk in coming here," Optimus warned, "You could have been killed."

"So could you."

"But we're trained," Lennox called, "You're just a kid!"

"Believe me, when a kid can capture a dictator single-handed, you know he's trained enough."

* * *

><p>Starscream smashed into a pile a junk that floated into the air in the low gravity.<p>

Megatron roared with anger. "WHERE IS MY PILLAR?"

"Lord Megatron," Soundwave placated, "The Autobots do not have the Pillar, nor know of its existence. We have an approximated location for it, but would have definite knowledge of its location if Starscream hadn't fouled up—"

"Don't try to rest all the blame on him!" Megatron roared, "It was your plan Soundwave and therefore, you shoulder as much blame as Starscream!"

Soundwave bowed his head, acknowledging his lord's persecution.

"You have both failed today," Megatron snarled, "For Starscream, this is the norm. But I'm surprised at you Soundwave; I expected better."

"My Lord, I have located two more Pillars at differing locations; send me to retrieve them, for I will not fail again."

"No, Shockwave will acquire these," Megatron spat, "You will remain in observation of Earth."

"My Lord," Soundwave persisted, "I will not fail again."

Megatron stared at Soundwave, his optics watching the information officer squirm, like a snake with its prey.

"Give Shockwave the coordinates of one," Megatron acquiesced, "You will retrieve the other; do not fail again, Soundwave."

Nodding, Soundwave leapt from the low gravity surface through a hole in the ceiling of the _Ark_, leaving the moon.

Starscream crawled on all fours up to his master.

"My Lord Megatron, I am sorry I failed—"

"Starscream, you simpleton," Megatron snarled, "Leave this ship and descend to the planet; do not return without something that could help the war effort. If you do, I will personally execute you."

"Yes Lord Megatron," Starscream whimpered, "As you command."

As Starscream left, Megatron turned to Shockwave.

"My lieutenants are a waste of space," he spat, "Pray that you will not fail like them."

"I reviewed the battle," Shockwave answered, "With the right tactics and troops, Starscream and his forces could have been able to overcome Optimus and the Autobots; however, Soundwave abandoned him."

"Why would he do that?"

"Amusement. It is pathetic."

"Agreed. You must keep your eye on those two."

* * *

><p>"Heavy injuries, no Decepticon fatalities and no Decepticon hostages," Mason said, frowning.<p>

"That sounds like a failure to me!" called Fearswoop from outside the command structure.

"Sir," Blazemaster said to Optimus, "Permission to knock the prisoner senseless?"

"Denied," Optimus replied, frowning as well, "Although we do need to sound-proof that force-field."

"But," Mason resumed, even more annoyed than usual, "I would consider the mission a success."

He smiled suddenly. "Because we have captured one of Earth's biggest threats, that scum-sucking piece of shit, Akil Farrah."

"And how does that help us? As in, the Autobots?" Sideswipe questioned.

"Oh, it doesn't," Mason beamed, "But it helps the human race tremendously. With the Decepticons running with their tails between their legs and Farrah hopefully on his way to the gallows, this is an excellent first victory for the Human and Autobot Resistance Pact.

"Now turn in for the night and those involved will be debriefed tomorrow. Ryder, you stay."

As the occupants of the meeting room filed out, Mason was left with Ryder, who stuck his feet on the table and munched on his cigarette.

"Now listen you little twerp," Mason said sharply, pointing a finger at Ryder, "You put yourself and the lives of others at risk with your little stunt, so the next time you go through those Pillars, you're being thrown into the witness protection program."

"Habeas corpus," Ryder replied.

"Pardon?"

"Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights says that you cannot put a US citizen in direct or indirect harm, when you have knowledge that you would be moving me into harm's way. As this Soundwave character apparently knows everything about everything, having twelve men in black suits won't make me feel any safer. Therefore; I'm staying here, as is the law."

Mason looked agape at Ryder, before getting his composure back.

"Although I'm not that up to date on any political rights," Mason fired back, "I do know something; you don't have a passport, so who's saying you're an American citizen?"

"Touché," Ryder nodded, "I didn't think General Lardass knew much about anything."

"And I do know that we don't always see eye-to-eye—"

"Especially over that bulk."

"—However, your capture of that son-of-a-bitch Farrah has made me see you in a new light," Mason nodded, "So… ever thought about working with us?"

"As a soldier?"

"As something similar."

"Nah; war is for idiots."

"Although you do need several lessons in attitude," Mason frowned, "Or I'll assign you to watch over the prisoner."

"Fearsnoop? Just give me a ten-foot long cattle prod and I'll be fine."

"I heard that!" came Fearswoop's voice in the distance.

"And we really need that sound-proof force-field," Mason sighed.

"Tell you what," Ryder said, "Give me a computer and ten days and I'll locate this Soundwave guy."

"You what?" Mason almost laughed, "Our boys at the Pentagon have been at it for the past month; why do you think it can be done by you?"

"When a teenager turns up in the sewers with an EMP grenade, you don't quite know what he's capable of."

Mason frowned. "Fine, but I'll bet a Benjamin that you can't do it."

"I'll take those odds," Ryder replied, crushing his cigarette in the ashtray on the table, "And raise fifty."

"Alright then," Mason agreed, getting up from the table, "Fancy a drink?"

"Sure."

"Whiskey?"

"On the rocks."

Mason gave a wry little smile.

_With a band like this, HARP may just win the war._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Will Harbinger assist us, if we revealed ourselves?<strong>_

_**Harbinger could ruin our plans for the boy…**_

_**How pathetic, to even consider working with organisms…**_

_**It is what must be done for survival.**_

_**And survival is the key?**_

_**What about the Decepticons?**_

_**Immaterial.**_

_**What about the Autobots?**_

_**Immaterial.**_

_**Then it is down to our cunning and guile to survive…**_

_**And what about the humans?**_

_**From what we can predict, not one of them will survive the year.**_


	7. Welcome to the Jungle

Chapter 7 is up! Woot!

(Thank you TFwiki for the Sideswipe nickname! Remember to read & review!)

* * *

><p>There lies a place in the jungle. It is filled with darkness.<p>

But to understand why this darkness has yet to be discovered, one must know the jungle.

It is not just plants, trees and bugs. The jungle is a creature, a creature of an anaconda grip that could crush the life out of you if given half the chance. When you enter the jungle, there is almost no escape.

Unless, of course, you know the jungle. But even that kind of knowledge won't protect you from the ancient horrors that lie within. For within the jungle, a fetid, forgotten creature awaits with remembrance in his eyes and cold steel in his heart.

There are many places on this Earth you should never enter. This is one of them.

But even worse, is what waits within.

There lies a place in the jungle. It is filled with darkness.

And this darkness contains deceit millennia old.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 7: Welcome to the Jungle<span>

_Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here every day  
>You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play<br>If you got a hunger for what you see, you'll take it eventually  
>You can have anything you want but you better not take it from me<em>

—**Welcome to the Jungle**

* * *

><p>Sam was dead.<p>

That was undeniable.

And no matter how long he sat there, that wouldn't change anything.

Bumblebee was a soldier, through and through. He would never disobey an order from Optimus Prime and he would never question one. But through his many adventures and battles he had come to see Sam Witwicky as a friend… no, brother to him as they had fought through every last Decepticon that got in their way.

And then they were in Los Angeles and he was watching Starscream take Sam to his death.

"I remember you…"

Bumblebee didn't even acknowledge Fearswoop.

"You used to hang around with that Jolt guy, didn't you?"

Bumblebee shook slightly. Jolt had been one of his old rookies… one who hadn't made it in their war…

"See, I remember a time," Fearswoop smiled whimsically, "A time when all we did was fight Autobots and humans and have fun. But those times have changed; there's no longer any fun involved."

Bumblebee said nothing.

"And in those times, there was a Decepticon called Shockwave," Fearswoop grinned, "Ah… there was a warrior; all he ever did was kill Autobots, which is something guys like Starscream and Soundwave couldn't hold a torch to. Heh… I remember a time, when I was in a situation like this…"

Bumblebee shook with rage. He knew what was coming and he didn't know if he would be able to stop himself.

"…When Shockwave arrived. He killed Jolt, a couple of others and then went to work on a bunch of defenceless ones. Although I think one got away, you can't be picky…"

Bumblebee got up and walked towards the force-field. He slammed a fist into it, causing it to shimmer. Fearswoop was unmoved.

"Say another word," Bumblebee growled, "I dare you."

"Oh, learned to speak have we?" Fearswoop cackled, "Since when did you learn to do that?"

"Since I got repaired," Bumblebee replied, "So that I could shut-up chumps like you."

"Temper, temper," Fearswoop laughed, "The prisoner must be kept in serviceable condition if he is to reveal information about Decepticon plans!"

In response, Bumblebee moved towards the force-field controls.

"You wouldn't dare," Fearswoop spat, smiling, "I know you Autobot types; 'freedom is the right of every sentient species!'"

The force-field disappeared. Fearswoop was still restrained. His tone of voice shifted.

"Hey, now let's not be hasty…" he started to plead.

Bumblebee smashed a fist into the defenceless prisoner, whose face almost split apart with the impact. Shards of metal sliced through the air.

"FUCK!" Fearswoop roared, "TORTURE! TORTURE!"

Immediately, the resting Autobots ran to the scene. Sideswipe was there first, watching Bumblebee pound away on Fearswoop. Grabbing him from behind, Sideswipe powered away from the prisoner, using his wheeled feet to pull Bumblebee back. He went without much resistance.

"Son of a bitch!" Fearswoop moaned as an impatient Ratchet went to tend to him.

Optimus arrived, watching Sideswipe drag Bumblebee away.

"What the hell's going on here?" General Mason shouted, entering the section where Fearswoop was held, "Optimus, explain!"

"It seems one of my soldiers," Optimus replied, watching Bumblebee get led away by Sideswipe, "Decided to 'rough up' the prisoner."

"Fuck up is more like it," Mason argued, frowning, "I want that yellow 'bot out of here, right now!"

"What?" Optimus asked, caught off-guard, "Where will he go?"

"HARP Canada or HARP Africa, screw it; I don't want our HQ compromised by rebellious aliens!"

"He wasn't being rebellious!" Sideswipe shouted back, "This Decepti-creep was winding him up!"

"Then he should be able to deal with it!" Mason roared back, "If the defenders of Earth get wound up by words, how will they fare in the heat of battle?"

Optimus looked down on the general.

"I will arrange for a short-term transfer," Optimus said, becoming peace-maker yet again, "Bumblebee was the closest of all of us to Sam Witwicky; he will be moved to a different branch for the time being."

As Sideswipe moved Bumblebee away, Fearswoop sniggered through his own smashed-up face.

* * *

><p>In the dead of night, with no city for miles, the stars numbered in their thousands.<p>

Marcus lay on a rock, staring at those stars. His thoughts buzzed with the wonder of them.

_The transformers are just one race… and so are we… so how many could be out there? There could be dozens, maybe hundreds of different races. Hell, maybe even thousands._

He saw the moon and gulped slightly.

_And from what we know, the Decepticons are up there, watching down on us all. What are they thinking about? How to wipe us out? How to conquer us? How to defeat the Autobots?_

_The guys here still aren't sure of how many got away… how many are still out there who have killed humans?_

_Megatron… he's the one who has caused so much pain and misery. It's his fault all this has happened, his fault their war started and why it has invaded our planet. He has killed so many and for what? Vengeance? Power? Respect? He really is petty…_

"What are you thinking about?"

Marcus was just outside the car park that was connected to the secret entrance to HARP HQ, so he heard people coming and going. But Gerin walked up to the rock and stared up at the stars as well.

"You know…" Marcus sighed, "Megatron and his Decepticons. And if there are any other alien species out there."

Gerin smiled. "It makes your head spin," she agreed, "Just thinking about how insignificant we all are… as if we are all just pawns in the game of the universe. Life is just too strange and too large to think about."

"But what if there are others?" Marcus asked, a cool breeze washing over him, "That are bigger or more advanced than guys like the transformers?"

"Then we can't worry our little heads about it," Gerin laughed, a sound so sweet and simple, "If there are monsters in the galaxy that can crush our planet with a thought, then there is no point in worrying about it. Life is life. Death is death. And we are all so very tiny."

"Optimus Prime isn't."

"Oh, I think he's the smallest of us all."

Mason didn't quite understand that, but he decided to let it slip, soaking in the stars.

Marcus lied while Gerin stood, staring up at space. They remained like that for a while, until Gerin spoke.

"How did you become an orphan, Marcus?" she asked.

Marcus shifted uncomfortably. "When I was just a baby, there was an accident," he replied, "An entire rig smashed into our car. I don't remember any of it though. I soon wound up in an orphanage, where I met Stacy and the rest."

"How was it there?"

"A hell-hole; once we grew old enough to walk and talk, we became drug-runners for some of the local idiots and orphans who were too old to stay. But they gave us food and books, so it was all right… I guess. What about you? Where is your family?"

Gerin sighed. "That's a long story… but the night is long…"

"If you don't want to talk about it—"

"No, no… I will tell," she said with a small smile. She thought hard, remembering a time many years ago.

"You know, in Zimbabwe, we didn't have much chance," she said sadly, "There were the soldiers, the plague and most of all the hunger that circled like ravenous vultures. My father disappeared one night and I never saw him again, while my mother succumbed to the plague later on."

"Jesus," Marcus whispered, "That must have been tough."

"I was four at the time, so I didn't really know what was going on," she spoke, "I was thrown into an aid camp where I grasped English and French rather quickly, much to the workers' relief. I was quickly hired on as a translator at twelve, before growing up quick. I worked in that place for many years, soon becoming a psychiatrist to the poor kids that turned up in that hellhole. It was by no means easy work, but it felt good to help, to support. And then one day, he came."

Her eyes were filled with long forgotten memories.

"A young peacekeeper from France, who had just arrived with a fresh face and sharp wit; I fell for him immediately. But he had come at the wrong time, for the rebels were on the move and village after village was being burnt. With their flags of 'liberation' coming over the horizon, he asked for me to go, to flee Zimbabwe for good and leave him behind. I wouldn't. In the end, the rebels raided the camp and I barely got away in time. But I never saw him again."

Marcus was fascinated. Gerin's eyes filled with tears.

"A few months later, I gave birth to his son in an Egyptian hospital. A beautiful boy who I loved with all my heart that reminded me of him," she sobbed, "He was mine… a little treasure in my arms. And we moved to France like he would have wanted.

"And then, aged two, my little boy died."

Marcus said nothing, stunned by the woman who was spilling out her life story in that desert.

"Of some silly little illness… it wouldn't have even floored another baby. Mine just… it just gave up. And… I could do nothing about it…

"So I moved to America… the land of opportunity. A place for a fresh start. But as soon as I got off the boat, all I saw were families enjoying a happiness I had never known… at which point I spiralled down into the seedy underbelly of New York, using the wits I got from Africa to stay on top of the lechers and the drugs. But then one day I looked at myself in the mirror and thought… 'I'm better than this'. So I quickly recovered and became what I always have excelled at; psychiatry. Soon after, the army got their hands on me. A few years later I was thrown around the CIA, NSA and FBI in equal measures. Eventually, I found NEST."

She looked at Marcus then and he felt a deep sadness wash over him; her beautiful face was marred by tears that reflected the light of the stars. Marcus could say nothing. He had to stop himself from gaping with shock at her life.

She laughed then, brushing it off and wiping her eyes. "Oh, listen to me… an old fool. I'm just ranting on like an idiot—"

"You're not an idiot!" Marcus exclaimed, almost standing up in the certainty of his denial, "You're a bright, lovely woman who has never done anything wrong in her life; despite all you've lost, you keep on going and that's the greatest thing I've ever heard anyone doing!"

Gerin looked up with a strange little smile on her lips. "Oh Marcus… there's just something about you that reminds me of the son I never had…"

Marcus pursed his lips together, completely unsure of how to respond.

Gerin looked up to the sky.

"Marcus… whatever you do, keep dreaming. Life might take your money, your rights, your family… but as long as you have imagination, the ability to dream… you'll always be able to do whatever you want."

Still smiling, Gerin walked back to the darkened car park.

Marcus watched her go before slowly lying back down on the rock and staring at the sky.

He looked up at the stars and wondered.

"Well," Epps sighed, "Ain't this a kick in the teeth."

* * *

><p>As a Camaro and a Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the C-5, Epps took a look around the airstrip.<p>

Jorge Chavez International Airport hadn't changed much from when Epps had last been here, back in NEST's golden age: NEST had just come into being and Megatron was dead but Starscream and Soundwave plotted together, led by the hand of the Fallen, and eventually sparked off the events in Egypt.

Out here, Epps had travelled with two different Autobots and fought Decepticons in the mountains. That had been a long time ago. Hell, when he thought about it, it seemed like a decade instead of a few years…

A jeep and several trucks were waiting to take the HARP squads. A man got out of the jeep.

"Epps!" the man called, jubilant.

"Pierre?" Epps asked, trying to remember the head of HARP's Peruvian division, "Good to see you man! You still a lieutenant?"

"Captain now," Captain Pierre Morales replied with a smile, "It's been what, three years, four?"

"It does seem like a long time ago, doesn't it?" Epps laughed, "Jeez, we were all new to this shit back then…"

"Come with me," Pierre said, leading Epps towards the jeeps, "We're heading for another airfield."

"With no _cui _I hope," Epps grimaced, remembering the last time he'd had guinea pig stew, "Damn that stuff was nasty."

"Don't worry Staff-Sergeant, I won't inflict that torture on you again," Pierre laughed as they got in the jeep, "How is Mr Andronov?"

"He moved back to Russia," Epps replied as the jeep took off, "He said the Autobots were too boring for his tastes."

"He was a strange one."

"Yeah," Epps laughed, "He really was."

* * *

><p>The other airfield they eventually arrived at was located a few miles out of Lima, but this one was deserted. The convoy moved into a large hangar, where Bumblebee and Sideswipe were finally allowed to transform.<p>

"Ah, my joints are aching," Sideswipe moaned, "I'm never staying that long in alternate form again."

"Quit your whining," Epps laughed, "But I do have to say; is this really the HARP's Peruvian HQ?"

"I'm afraid it is," Pierre sighed, looking around the dirty and old hangar, "After we got kicked out of the old one."

"How'd you get kicked out?"

"You know when NEST decided to send each division some cybertronian technology to study? Well, the technology that was sent to Peru was a bit more volatile than others…"

"Meaning?"

"The old HQ got burned a bit. No-one was killed though."

"A bit? How much is a bit?"

"The first three floors."

"Oh."

"And it just so happened that on that day, Lieutenant-General Lopez was touring our facilities."

"A general? Was he hurt?"

"Sadly, no," Morales sighed, "But his dog was unrecognisable. So we got kicked into the sticks."

"Damn. Sorry to hear that."

"Uh, hello?" Sideswipe said, raising a sword-hand, "What exactly are we here for?"

"Ah, it's a good thing you've arrived actually," Pierre said, "Because we don't have the manpower for the operation we have in mind."

"Operation?" Epps questioned, "What operation?"

"Well, for the past few months we've been receiving rumours of a 'metal god' within the jungles to the north, hidden in the shadow of the mountains. The very same jungles we toppled Blademaster into," Pierre remembered, "And where a news helicopter disappeared just last week."

"A chopper was shot down?" Epps asked, surprised.

"Not shot down; vanished," Morales answered, "It just disappeared. And due to the steep mountains and heavy foliage, it is near impossible to mount a search and rescue operation."

"It's a good thing we're here," Epps said, "Especially with Stabby McWheelfeet to cut down those trees."

"At least I'm not Fleshius Squashable," Sideswipe baited, "Armed with a gun that couldn't melt a radiator."

"How soon could you move out?" Pierre asked.

"Tomorrow's fine," Epps replied, "If this 'metal god' really is a Decepticon, we'll make sure it never leaves the jungle alive."

"Then we best get some rest," Pierre said jubilantly, clapping his hands together, "Man, it's good to be working with Autobots again."

* * *

><p>That night, when all except the guards at their posts were asleep, a small red crab crawled through the foliage.<p>

Under the cover of clouds, so that not even the moonlight could reflect off its metallic surface, it crawled under fallen logs and cut through dense leaves to make its way to the wire fence that circled the airfield. Easily snapping the wire with incredibly strong claws, it climbed through the fence to make its way towards the hangar.

Climbing along the wall on magnetic legs, the crab crawled towards a small hole in the hangar roof. Unseen by any, it crawled through and gazed around the hangar.

There they were.

Two Autobots and several human allies.

The information acquired, the crab crawled back down the hangar, went out through the fence and silently scuttled through the jungle.

Many miles and minutes later, the crab walked onto the hand of something humongous.

As the crab went inside the Decepticon, it stood still to receive the information.

He then made a call.

"Soundwave," the Decepticon whispered, "It's as you surmised; two Autobots and human reinforcements. If I took them by surprise, then I bet I could take them all out."

"_Doubtful,"_ replied the ghost-like watcher, who looked down on Peru from thousands of miles away, _"Confirmed one of the Autobots is designate Bumblebee; if you were to engage him, you would lose."_

"I'm better than you think," the Decepticon spat, "I lived longer than you!"

"_Astrotrain, you will not survive with that attitude," _Soundwave replied, _"And let me tell you something; the Autobot Bumblebee is the one who killed me."_

"Really?" Astrotrain grinned, "That little runt?"

"_I made a mistake; I got arrogant. Due to a miscalculation on behalf of my arrogance, he killed me."_

"Unbelievable… the all-powerful Soundwave laid low by an Autobot runt."

"_His time will come," _Soundwave uttered with malevolence, _"And this is from one who had to crawl away from a fight with a female. I believe I was the one who nursed you back to health in time for the battle at Chicago. Do not forget your debt to me."_

"Yeah, yeah," Astrotrain growled, "I hear you."

"_Good; meet with the Dreads at the following coordinates."_

As Astrotrain listened to the instructions, his interest was piqued.

"What about the old-timer?"

"_Leave him to me. When the Autobots enter the jungle, they will not leave alive."_

"Whatever you say, Soundwave."

* * *

><p>It looked impenetrable.<p>

Despite the sun beating down over them, the jungle seemed to suck the light away and utterly destroy it. The branches held up a ceiling of darkened leaves that crawled with poisonous insects and disgusting creatures that could kill a man with a touch. Razor-sharp grass and incredibly tough bark held the forest together like a city of insects, of disgusting creatures.

And deep within, lay a 'metal god'.

"After you," Epps said to Sideswipe.

Sideswipe sighed and readied his arm blades, the edge thinner than skin.

He sliced through the first tree like butter, the broken wood falling to the ground.

"Let's move!" he called and the soldiers filed in behind him, Bumblebee taking up the rear.

Together, they trekked into the jungle.

* * *

><p>"You got a wife?" Epps asked Morales as they hiked through the sweaty jungle.<p>

"And two kids," the captain replied, "Jacques and Pemma; a beautiful boy and girl."

"My first is on its way," Epps smiled, "If it's a boy then it's William and if it's a girl then it's Tara. Man… I haven't seen my wife in a while."

"I understand; as soon as I heard the Decepticons were back I put all hopes of going home after a shift completely out of my mind," Pierre sighed, "It looks like a real war is brewing."

"You can say that again," Epps replied sadly, "With guys like Megatron watching from up there"—Epps looked to the sky—"Life is going to get real hard, real soon."

Pierre slapped a fly that had landed on his neck. Gazing up at the leaves that shadowed them, he was grateful for the lack of sun that would have turned the jungle into a sultry hell.

"To think, that the whole world knows about the transformers," Pierre said, looking up at Sideswipe's back, "Humanity's first contact… and it receives so little fanfare."

"The world's just scared, that's all," Epps shrugged, "When an alien race pops out of nowhere and starts blasting up Mission City, people get shifty around guys like Optimus."

"But he's saved you guys so many times," Sideswipe said, turning his head, "Why would people be suspicious?"

"Here's the thing Sideswipe; there are very few people in this world who trust each other," Epps replied, "That's just how it is. Back in the twentieth century, a lot of shit happened, mostly with people killing each other or distrusting each other. So, in this new era, when aliens start cropping up too, everyone gets scared shitless."

"But why wage war on each other?" Sideswipe asked, "Before the great war, tribes fought sparingly and we enjoyed a time of peace. But your kind's history is soaked in bloodshed… and I wonder why?"

"Babel," Pierre replied.

"Pardon?" Epps and Sideswipe asked.

"In the Bible, there is the story of Babel; a long time ago, everyone spoke the same language and believed in the same god. One day, the people all united and decided to build a tower so large that it would pierce the heavens themselves; they wanted to sit at their god's right hand. So they built the tower up; but when it started nearing the sky God grew fearful of his power being threatened by us humans. So he then changed the language of all the people, stopping them from communicating together, stopping the construction of the tower. The people of different languages were scattered across the Earth, forming different countries and alliances, therefore keeping God's realm safe. From then on, people warred against each other; and although we do sometimes make peace, it never lasts a century… but neither does war."

"Well that's one good thing for you humans at least," Sideswipe admitted, "Compared to our war, yours are so small. Ours has last millennia… and still it rages."

They continued in silence after that, the jungle encroaching around them.

Epps looked around; the jungle seemed to disappear into darkness the deeper it went. Staring into the dark too long conjured up strange images, twisting the shadows into shapes.

Epps knew it was just his imagination but it sent him back to the days of his youth; outside at night, the fields stretching into the horizon, where he stayed up late with his father just so that he could learn not to be afraid of the dark. He remembered the moon and the stars and his father telling him that as long as he could see any of them, there was nothing to be afraid of. The stars would watch over him and protect him, while the moon would ward off any threats that might want to get him.

But that was before his father was shot dead for his car. At night.

And at his funeral, Epps realised everything his father had told him was lies. Utter bull. But he realised the message; don't be afraid. Never be afraid.

"CONTACT LEFT!" roared one of the soldiers, raising his sabot launcher.

Epps switched left immediately, Sideswipe readying his blades while Pierre brought up a rifle filled with bullets that could burn through cybertronian armour.

They stared into the darkened trees.

"Where?" Epps called out.

"In the trees!" the soldier who had called it in shouted, "I saw this huge… thing with red eyes. You know, red optics!"

Epps remained very still, as did the rest of the soldiers.

In the trees, they heard twigs snapping and branches falling.

Epps put his finger on the trigger.

All of a sudden, something large and quick leapt atop a fallen tree. Epps almost fired.

It was a jaguar, still with its spots, and it stared at Epps from a few metres away.

The soldiers watched it.

The jaguar watched Epps.

Epps stared at the jaguar down the sights of his launcher.

The creature's yellow eyes gazed into Epps, waiting for him to make a move.

Epps stared back.

And then, the jaguar silently turned and fled back into the jungle.

Several seconds of silence followed.

"Micky, you idiot!" Epps exclaimed, turning to look down the line of soldiers, "Contact my arse!"

"I'm telling you sir, it weren't no jaguar that I saw!" the soldier responded, "It weren't no panda either!"

"We don't get pandas in Peru!" Pierre shouted back, "Flora and fauna not your strong point private?"

The soldiers laughed, if only to ease away the tension.

But Epps didn't laugh as hard as the others.

_Don't be afraid of the dark… heh, I think it's time to grow up._

* * *

><p>They continued their jungle journey, stopping when they needed to rest. After crossing a stream, one of the soldiers fell drastically ill. A black and yellow frog was found under his arm. He was quickly taken back by several other soldiers.<p>

Over the course of the journey, the organised platoon quickly started to degenerate into a simple stroll, with Bumblebee sidling up to Sideswipe. The two Autobots worked in silence as they destroyed the tough old trees, Sideswipe using his blade to cut and Bumblebee using his hands to uproot.

"You wanna talk about it?" Sideswipe asked in their tongue, too fast for human ears to understand, let alone translate.

Bumblebee ignored him, uprooting another tree.

"Sam… Sam was a good kid," Sideswipe continued, "He will be missed and certainly not forgotten."

They cut through some more.

"There was nothing you could have done—"

"Yes there was!" Bumblebee retorted angrily, "I had Starscream in my sights… I could have shot…"

"If you had shot, then the helicopter would have fallen and you would feel even guiltier," Sideswipe responded, "And in the end, we need to keep going—"

"You don't understand!" Bumblebee cried, "He was just like us; these humans are just like us… he never wanted to be in a war; he was forced into it. Our species are so alike Sideswipe, that I forget we aren't the same size."

"I know what these humans are capable of," Sideswipe agreed, "I've seen it first hand and… I guess I've somewhat matured since I first arrived, from the moment Demolisher bit the dust. I was just an arrogant little brat back then… and look at you; little Bumblebee from the defence at Simfur. You and Cliffjumper were pretty much inseparable back then, always causing trouble. Look how far we've come. We can't let the end of one life, even one as bright as Sam's, slow us down. This is a war and we must win it."

They kept on demolishing the trees, while a silence was cast over the platoon.

"But… we were like brothers," Bumblebee whispered, "We'd been together since Mission City… and no-one ever beat us. That's the thing; we always made it out alive. And now… I still can't believe he's gone."

Sideswipe was about to reply when the forest exploded.

The trees in front of them were enveloped in fire, exploding outwards, splinters slamming into the Autobots. They were blown back by the force, smashing into other trees and uprooting them from the velocity at which Sideswipe and Bumblebee travelled.

The soldiers were immediately split apart from the shockwaves of the explosion. A few snapped their necks or suffered fatal injuries but most were simply dazed and confused.

Bumblebee's optics managed to see a leering face above him before everything went white.

* * *

><p>"Uh, Commander Starscream? What are we doing here?"<p>

Starscream looked up at the sun. Using filters in his optics, he could look at it without an afterimage being burned into his vision. And he only stared at it out of a need to see something filled with life.

"Space Case, while I'm on this planet you will refer to me as Lord Starscream."

"Of course… my lord," Space Case added hurriedly.

Starscream lounged on a pile of junk. The old scrapyard had long since been put out of business and now lay abandoned several miles from Mexico City. Starscream had used it before as a place where he had conducted deals with power-hungry humans for cybertronian weaponry. But that seemed so long ago… like wasted years…

"Do you see it Space Case?" Starscream muttered, staring up at the sun, "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Uh, the sun? It looks yellow to me."

Starscream ignored him. "It once loomed over us all… a beautiful pearl in the sea of stars, one that we stole for our own selfish purposes. And then, thanks to Optimus and Megatron, we lost it…"

"So… it's good that we're on Earth, right?" Space Case ventured.

"Space Case, it is the exact opposite of good," Starscream sighed, "Do you even know why I chose this scrap heap to make my HQ?"

"Uh, because you like getting your hands dirty?"

"One of these days, I'm going to execute you," Starscream growled, "No, not because I like rolling around in the muck… it's because it reminds me of home. A home that is now lost forever…"

Space Case thought for a second. "If only Optimus hadn't interfered in that human nest, Chicago; we'd have Cybertron returned to its former glory and the humans would be our slaves."

"Don't you get it?" Starscream spat, "It wasn't just Optimus; it was all of them. Optimus, Megatron, Sentinel, Shockwave… all of those idiots. They never cared for our planet, only our war."

"That is correct," intoned a voice behind them.

Space Case turned with shock while Starscream cursed under his breath.

"Did you kill Ruination?" Starscream asked.

"He wisely decided to move out of the way," Shockwave replied, standing beside the junk heap Starscream was sprawled on, "And you stupidly spoke without thinking."

"So you're going to kill me? Or tell Megatron?" Starscream wondered, looking up at the sun again, "You know what… I don't care, finish me off now."

"Why this sudden switch to suicide?" Shockwave wondered.

Starscream lazily raised an arm towards the sun, pointing. "Do you remember it?"

"Yes."

"It was beautiful, was it not?"

"It was ugly; the sun is a reflection of peace."

"Ah yes, I forgot you were a sadistic psychopath."

"I am not, but I understand your thinking. And I won't kill you."

"Why not? I am speaking treacherous thoughts out loud…"

"Because I care little for treachery. And although Megatron wouldn't bat an eyelid at me killing you I simply won't because you are too… pitiful. I would take no satisfaction from your death."

"You should work on your charity. It isn't exactly appealing."

Shockwave turned to look at the sun as well.

"Starscream?"

"Yes?"

"Would you die protecting that sun?"

"…No."

"Then what would you die protecting?"

Starscream shrugged. "There is so little left anyway. I don't even think I care about the war anymore."

Shockwave bowed over, staring Starscream in the face, just a few metres away.

"Then why not kill?" he uttered with a voice like distant thunder, "If you think warriors like me and Optimus are such idiots and with such little caring for your own life, why not attempt to kill them?"

Starscream said nothing. Shockwave's optic glowed with hunger.

"I will take my leave, for I must accomplish aims to help the Decepticon cause."

As Shockwave paced away, Starscream let out a cry.

"Shockwave!"

The huge Decepticon stopped.

"I am not a traitor!" Starscream shouted with authority, "It is Megatron who is the real traitor for he has done nothing but fail us!"

Shockwave was silent for a moment. Then:

"Believe what you will Starscream, but it is the last one left alive who speaks the truth."

He then continued his journey out of the junkyard.

There was silence as Starscream stared at the sun.

"Shit," Space Case muttered, "You guys are intense."

* * *

><p>Bumblebee's optics began to focus, his eyesight returning. Although he hurt like hell, nothing seemed to be broken. He clutched his head in his hands as the soldiers around him got up.<p>

"Shit," Pierre moaned as he got up, "That hurt."

Bumblebee looked around. He quickly realised something was wrong.

"Where's Sideswipe?" he asked, "Where's he gone?"

"Epps?" Pierre called, "Epps? Hang on… half the force is missing. Hell, this isn't even where we were before…"

Although several soldiers were with them, painfully getting to their feet, there were nowhere near as many as there originally had been.

"So Epps, Sideswipe and about twenty-five of us are missing," Pierre realised, "Shit."

"I'll try to get a message through to Sideswipe," Bumblebee told Pierre.

"Yeah, I'll try to raise Epps," the captain acknowledged, taking out a radio.

But as Bumblebee tried to communicate with Sideswipe, he realised something else was wrong; it wasn't working.

"My radio's dead," Pierre sighed, "Any of you guys got one that's working?"

It wasn't a matter of Sideswipe not picking up; it was the fact that for whatever reason, Bumblebee's communicator was definitely not working. Either that or it was jammed. And if it was being jammed…

"Decepticon!" Bumblebee exclaimed, "It must have been a Decepticon who attacked us! Who was it?"

Pierre shook his head slightly, as if clearing cobwebs from his hair.

"Uh… did any of you men confirm the target?"

The soldiers looked at him with blank faces. Even though they were a mix of nationalities, they understood the question perfectly well. They just didn't have the answer.

"Great," Pierre muttered, "In all probability, Epps and the rest are dead from a Decepticon ambush while we have no idea just who that Decepticon is. And we're stuck in the middle of the jungle, with no radio or working electrical technology… hang on; Bumblebee, why is it you're still active?"

"It seems whatever EMP took out our stuff wasn't powerful enough to knock me into stasis lock," Bumblebee answered, "Although I do find it hard to talk…"

But it was at that moment, while the soldiers were trying out their equipment, that Pierre noticed something in the sky behind Bumblebee.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing.

Bumblebee turned to see a column of blue light in the distance, stretching into the heavens from the jungle. It was a light discerningly like that of a…

"Pillar!" Bumblebee roared, "It must be the Decepticons!"

"Then we best go in the other direction," Pierre advised, "We'll eventually reach a town or city…"

"But Sideswipe and the others may be captured!" Bumblebee retorted, "We can't abandon them!"

"We don't know that for sure," Pierre argued, "As I'm captain, I'm ordering that we fall back in the opposite direction—"

"Bull!" Bumblebee roared, "The Decepticons are there, I'm sure of it! We need to destroy them!"

"We are low on men, several are injured and I'm calling a halt to this expedition!" Pierre argued back, "Even if there are Decepticons there and even if Epps and your friend are POWs, there is no chance in hell of us beating them!"

Bumblebee's face was contorted with rage. He turned from Pierre and stalked off towards the jungle.

"Stop!" Pierre cried, "We will not follow!"

Bumblebee kept going. "If you think you can leave this jungle alive without my help, go ahead."

Pierre cursed under his breath, before ordering his men after him.

* * *

><p>Epps opened his eyes. The sun beat down strong overhead.<p>

"Ah, fuck," he moaned, "What hit us?"

There was no answer. Groaning with pain, he sat up, looking around.

Sideswipe lay on his back, where he had been thrown by the explosion. The other men of the platoon were getting to their feet.

But Bumblebee, Pierre and many other soldiers were missing as well.

"Great," Epps muttered, "Just great."

"Ah, hell," one of the soldiers exclaimed, "Where's Bee?"

"And the captain?" asked one of the Peruvian soldiers.

"Listen up guys," Epps told the waking troops, "Until Captain Morales can be located, I'm in command. So… who's missing?"

As the remaining troops counted off who wasn't accounted for, Sideswipe awoke.

"Argh," he moaned with pain, "Now who the hell did that?"

"Don't know," Epps muttered, "But it was a big 'con, that's what."

"Good, if it's Shockwave, bring him on."

"I don't think it's a Decepticon we're used to," Epps spoke his mind, "And definitely not Shockwave; we'd be dead already."

"And where did the others go?" Sideswipe wondered, looking around at the devastated jungle, "Where's Bumblebee?"

"I don't know!" Epps exclaimed, "I have no idea; they could be dead, captured or even teleported to the other side of the world!"

"Speaking of teleportation…" Sideswipe muttered, pointing towards something in the distance.

Epps and the soldiers looked into the distance and saw a column of blue light split the sky.

"Is that what I think it is?" Epps wondered.

"Pillar," Sideswipe recognised, "And if the Decepticons are there, then we might be able to cut them off before they escape."

"What about Bumblebee and the rest?" Epps asked, "We have no idea where they are!"

"If they're dead, then I want vengeance," Sideswipe answered, "If they're captured, then I want to rescue them. If they've been simply teleported somewhere else, then they'll head towards that light as well; so we should head towards the Pillar."

Epps frowned. He walked up to Sideswipe and whispered.

"Listen Sideswipe, I'm going to put this decision in your hands, because I trust you," Epps told him, "Just remember; these men have families, as do I. Your family is waiting in Nevada, so you have no need to worry… just remember; the consequences will be because of your choice."

Sideswipe stared down at him and thought hard. He knew that others were counting on him and he knew the risks. He weighed them up.

"We're going in," he muttered.

Epps nodded, before turning to the troops.

"Let's go!" he called.

Muttering what Epps wouldn't have wanted to hear, the men got up and readied their weapons.

It was going to be a long walk.

* * *

><p>"Well," Pierre muttered, "Shit."<p>

They had found the news helicopter that had vanished a week ago. It laid smashed and broken in the middle of the jungle, caught in-between the trees. It had been utterly totalled.

"Do you know what shot it down?" Pierre asked Bumblebee.

"It wasn't," Bumblebee answered honestly, "There are no scorch marks or evidence of cybertronian weaponry. By the looks of things, it just dropped out of the sky."

"Of course," Pierre muttered, "Whatever took out our communications must have shut down the chopper; that's why no rescue beacon was heard. Whoever we're facing, they've got some powerful EMP weapon."

"Or…" Bumblebee mused, "It was teleported."

"Teleported?" Pierre asked, "Like the Pillar?"

"It doesn't need to have been the Pillar to teleport us," Bumblebee answered, "Many old cybertronians have the ability to teleport."

"So we could be facing an old Decepticon?" Pierre questioned, "A veteran?"

"I don't know," Bumblebee said, shrugging, "But whatever it is, it could be holding Sideswipe and the others."

"Hmm," Pierre mused. He looked at the downed helicopter.

The pilots were smashed up in the cockpit. He turned away.

"Are we moving on?" he asked.

Bumblebee nodded and continued to uproot trees.

* * *

><p>"What happened at Diego Garcia?" Stacy asked.<p>

Blazemaster froze, as if hit by the stare of a gorgon. He slowly turned towards her, his gaze icy.

"Why?"

"I heard something happened there," Stacy said, "Before the whole Chicago incident—"

"Why do you want to know?" Blazemaster asked, his tone of voice chilling.

"Oh… if you don't want to talk about it, then I'm sorry—"

"No, no," Blazemaster sighed, "It's alright; all species are curious. There's no harm in telling you I guess…

"After the whole Nefarious incident, NEST was immediately strengthened by the governments of your planet; divisions started to appear all over the world. With these new numbers, Decepticon incursions were quickly put paid to. But the refugees like me were still confused over everything: Earth, Nefarious and the fact that the Allspark was gone for good. But life went on like that for a few months… until one last incursion."

"Apparently, Starscream had gone from air commander to small-time gangster, selling cybertronian weaponry in return for different Earth fuels, to see if they were a substitute for energon. We laid a sting; a NEST operative was to pose as a buyer and when Starscream's flunkies arrived, we would capture them. It worked, sort of; two of the 'cons, Skystalker and Divebomb, where eliminated while the remaining one was captured."

"It's that loser in the cage, wasn't it?" Stacy remembered from Fearswoop's constant chattering.

"Yes… Fearswoop was brought back to Diego Garcia, but before we could plug him for information, we received a report of Starscream's forces in Philadelphia. Most of the Autobots quickly responded, while three Autobots by the names of Jolt, Dune Runner and Knock Out stayed behind to watch over the prisoner and to make sure we were safe.

"But Starscream's battle was just a distraction; that island was the real prize. It turned out Starscream's attack was nothing more than a distraction orchestrated by the real power; Shockwave. He landed on Diego Garcia, when the only Autobot who could oppose him, Optimus, was thousands of miles away."

Blazemaster seemed to shudder slightly as he remembered that day's events.

"Knock Out's head was crushed and he was thrown through the main building's wall. Jolt was next, trying to stand up to Shockwave. Shockwave couldn't believe that he was actually being challenged; he simply blew him away. Dune Runner was last and he begged for mercy, trying to plead with Shockwave not to hurt us. Shockwave broke his skull in his hand.

"I… I seemed to be the only one that understood the threat; the others just stared blankly. As Fearswoop howled with laughter, I ran, smashing through a wall and running into the sea, where I hid underwater. It was only when Optimus arrived several hours later that I surfaced and I saw what had happened; the Autobots who had stayed were all dead while the base had almost been wiped off the map. I was the only witness left."

"I can't believe it," Stacy whispered, "Whenever I think about the Autobots vs. the Decepticons, I always thought the Autobots had won…"

"There are many battles we've had on this Earth that you humans don't know about; as long as your governments say we are winning, then the people don't panic."

"That I can understand," Stacy admitted, "But if there is ever a time that we keep losing, we wouldn't even be able to lie."

Blazemaster stood silent. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"It was… terrifying," he whispered, "With the water everywhere and the thought that Shockwave could be hanging over me, his cannon buzzing… it sent shivers down my spine. But… it woke me up. It broke me out of my stupor of confusion. I soon learned to support NEST, learning under an old Autobot named Ironhide…"

"I recognise that name," Stacy remembered, "He was one of the Autobots top soldiers—"

"Who was stabbed in the back," Blazemaster muttered, "By one of our old leaders… a 'bot who was once considered wise and caring… but his own patriotism for his forgotten world blinded him to the truth; our race is dead and no amount treacherous deals will ever change that."

* * *

><p>The light was getting nearer.<p>

"In a few more minutes, we'll be there," Pierre told his men, "Better lock and load."

As weapons were readied and shells loaded, Pierre became slightly more nervous. He crossed himself.

Bumblebee uprooted another tree.

"Hey, Bee?" Pierre asked, "Could you be a bit quieter? We're almost there…"

"We don't have time to waste," Bumblebee replied gruffly, "They could leave at any minute!"

"Sam is dead," Pierre muttered harshly.

Bumblebee stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned his head.

"What did you say?" he asked, a low thunder in his voice.

Pierre breathed hard. His men clutched their weapons more tightly.

"Sam is dead," he said, clear and loud.

Bumblebee slammed a fist down in front of him, staring straight into the captain's eyes.

"And what would you know about him?" he growled menacingly, "What would you know about any of our worlds? If you are mocking him or me, then prepare your last rites."

"He was a brother to you, no?" Pierre growled back, "Family. Someone you've known for years and never want to lose? Take a look around you—"

Pierre swept his arm towards his men, each man nervously thumbing the trigger.

"These men have families, as do I," Pierre spoke angrily, "They have wives, children, sisters… brothers, that all want to see them return safely. They have loved ones. Now I know that you must miss Sam dearly, but he is dead and nothing you do will bring him back; you must now think about the men you are protecting here. You need to help bring them home safely."

Bumblebee looked at the tiny Pierre. "And what about you?"

"A wife and two children," he replied, "They are all I have in the world."

Bumblebee stood straight and looked at them all. They looked back, their eyes hopeful.

"Then stick close," the Autobot replied, "For it is dark and if you lose your way, you'll never get out."

He then slipped between the trees, followed by the soldiers.

* * *

><p>"Do you see the light?" Epps asked.<p>

"Hallelujah," Sideswipe joked, "We're around two minutes away."

"What I don't get though," Epps said as Sideswipe cut his way through the jungle, "Is if Bumblebee and the rest were teleported, why not teleport us? Why leave us? And why not teleport us into the middle of the pacific or a couple of hundred feet above the ground? Why send only half of us away?"

"Maybe they believe in divide and conquer?" Sideswipe thought, "Or their teleportation is weak or broken. Pit, we'll find out when we get there."

_We won't have to travel long though, _Epps noted, seeing the blue light beyond the trees. They were almost there.

Sideswipe cut through a few more trees.

"Are those…?" Epps wondered.

"I believe they are," Sideswipe replied, "Which means…"

They cut down the last tree in their way.

They saw it all.

"God… damn…" Epps muttered in disbelief.

"Well," Sideswipe whistled, "I wasn't expecting this."

* * *

><p>Bumblebee, Pierre and the remaining soldiers stared from their treeline.<p>

"Bloody hell," Pierre whispered.

Bumblebee was too stunned for words.

Before them in a large clearing, was a village.

A few dozen mud huts filled the clearing, which had a single stream running through it. From the hut's ages and materials, you would have thought you had travelled a few thousand years back in time. Indeed, the people certainly looked like they were from the ice age.

Waiting in a long line, men, women and children of all ages waited with animal skins and leafs covering their bodies. They looked hopeful, as if waiting in line for a winning lottery ticket. Their faces were healthy and proud but it was obvious they had never seen a glimmer of civilization. They were ancient tribesmen, taken out of their time and dumped in the twenty-first century.

But the thing that took the most attention was what they were waiting in line for.

A Pillar stood upright in the centre of the village, shooting its beautiful blue light into the heavens.

And standing beside it was a transformer.

But this cybertronian was obviously neither Autobot nor Decepticon; this was an old transformer, its age in millions of years, a sentinel of Cybertron's ancient and secretive past. His parts were rusted and bits of metal flaked off from where he scratched his head. He looked tired and the staff in his hand obviously held him up.

He seemed to be guiding the people towards the Pillar. With fascination on their faces, Pierre and Bumblebee watched a person walk into the light, disappearing into the teleporter. The next one in line took his place.

"Uh, what do we do sir?" asked one of the mesmerised soldiers under Pierre.

Pierre shook himself of the sight and said, "We break this up; now."

Bumblebee and the HARP soldiers walked into the clearing.

The people in line, seeing them, screamed and fled to their huts. One of the men tapped the transformer on the foot and pointed at the new arrivals.

The ancient transformer turned and saw them.

"They cometh at last," he spoke with a gravelly voice, rust in his throat, "The prosecutors."

"We haven't come to prosecute anyone old-timer," Bumblebee told him, "We just want to know what's going on."

"I dreamed of this day," the ancient transformer sighed, a sound like cogs moving, "For so long I've promised these people salvation and now, after all this time, I find the instrument to accomplish my work… and now the new gods arrive."

"There ain't no gods here," came another voice.

Bumblebee looked behind the ancient cybertronian to see Sideswipe and the rest arriving through the trees.

"Sideswipe!"

"Bee," Sideswipe acknowledged, "Looks like we've found our 'metal god'."

"More have come, for they now surround me in the light of my wisdom," the ancient transformer said, seeming to ignore Sideswipe's presence completely, "And now Remembrance must save the people from the hounds of the Pit."

"This guy's gone cuckoo," Sideswipe told Bumblebee, "He must have been one those ancient Seekers, like Jetfire. He seems to have been in this place for a long, long time…"

The Seeker then spoke in a language no-one recognised. He called out loud and long, a rusty and old note that sounded not too unlike a dying machine.

Slowly but surely, the people came out of their homes, almost crawling back into their original line. They began the process of heading into the Pillar again.

"Wait a second," Pierre said, "If that Pillar is teleporting people… where is it teleporting them to…?"

The light streamed into the sky.

Into space.

"Oh shit," Epps muttered, "Sideswipe, you better talk this guy out of teleporting those people!"

Sideswipe quickly walked towards the Seeker, who turned to meet the young Autobot.

"Listen gramps," Sideswipe said, "You better stop this; now."

"All my life has been leading to this moment," Remembrance replied, "It cannot be stopped; not now."

"You may think you're helping these people, but you're sending them to their deaths!" Sideswipe shouted, "That Pillar is sending them into space!"

"Of course it is," Remembrance growled, "And from there, they will journey to find the Matrix…"

"THEY CAN'T BREATHE IN SPACE!" Sideswipe roared, "I'm pulling the plug on this, now."

But as Sideswipe tried to push past the Seeker, he found himself swatted away, crashing through a house.

Remembrance clutched his staff in both hands.

"The final chapter of my gospel shall now be written," he spoke with reverence, "All my life I promised these poor souls salvation and now, when an instrument of Primus finally arrives, the Fallen's cohorts conspire to ruin us!"

"He's still strong!" Epps roared, "We don't have time for this; take him down!"

The treeline almost exploded as several shells and rockets screeched towards Remembrance. The people screamed.

In response to the barrage, Remembrance shot into the sky, the barrage flying under him. Roaring, he came down like a lightning bolt, smashing into the treeline, crushing two soldiers underfoot.

"Bee!" Sideswipe roared, "Take out the Pillar; we'll deal with him!"

As Sideswipe leapt at Remembrance, Bumblebee and Pierre ran towards the Pillar as another man disappeared through it.

All of a sudden, Bumblebee was blown back. He smashed into a hut, leaving him in a daze.

Pierre and his soldiers turned towards the trees.

Out of the shadows, creatures crawled towards them. They snarled and roared, red eyes blazing with hate and anticipation for the kill. They crept out of the jungle, hungry for bloodshed.

Bumblebee sat up and saw who had arrived.

"Do you remember me?" Soundwave uttered malevolently as his deadly menagerie approached, "For I remember you too well Bumblebee… now let us see if I can crush a true insect."

* * *

><p>Sideswipe leapt back as Remembrance brought his staff upon the ground. It rumbled like an earthquake.<p>

"Shit, he's still got it!" Sideswipe called as Remembrance leapt forward again.

"I will not let you deny their paradise!" the Seeker roared.

"I'm trying to deny them early graves!" Sideswipe called back, "You blind old man!"

Remembrance crushed a house underfoot as he swung again. But Sideswipe dodged easily, now beginning to read his moves.

"Your moves are rusty gramps," Sideswipe taunted, "Your age has slowed you down."

"You have no vision, slave," Remembrance shot back, "You are nothing but a blind fool, entrusting your life to your master. You are nothing but a puppet on a string!"

"Have you been ingesting the local flora?" Sideswipe joked, "Because you're really seeing things I'm not."

Remembrance disappeared.

Sideswipe stopped for half a second, which was all it took for Remembrance to appear behind him and smash him over the head.

Sideswipe fell to the ground, skidding through the mud and grass.

"Teleportation," he winced with pain, "Forgot about that one."

"You fools," Remembrance gasped with fatigue, "I gave you a chance to turn around, to leave my domain… but you let curiosity doom your souls to death. The Pit will burn you for your idiocy!"

As Remembrance raised his staff for the killing blow, Sideswipe groaned with pain.

A shell smashed into Remembrance's throat, burning through his neck. He tried to roar with pain, but burning metal came out of his mouth instead. He choked on his own twisted throat.

"Keep firing!" Epps roared, as the soldiers poured missiles into the Seeker, "Cover Sideswipe! Someone knockout that Pillar!"

One of the soldiers aimed his AT4 and a rocket sped towards the Pillar. But Remembrance managed to swat it away with his staff.

"NO!" he half spat, half gurgled, "Leave them alone!"

"Finish him!" Epps roared.

Sideswipe leapt to his feet, his wheels spinning.

"Sorry old timer," he said, "But your time has come."

* * *

><p>Rumble smashed into Bumblebee while Ratbat tore at his head. Meanwhile, Ravage tore apart the soldiers, his mace-tail smashing into another human. Pierre fought off Laserbeak with a shotgun, trying to pump shells into the incredibly fast vulture. Buzzsaw flew above them all, watching for stragglers.<p>

Soundwave watched the humans as one by one, they walked towards the Pillar's light, trying to ignore the raging battle.

"Sheep," Soundwave muttered, "Though aren't we all?"

Something tickled his ankle.

He looked down, seeing two boys slinging rocks at him. Their mother was desperately trying to call them away, her face wet with tears.

The boys looked up at Soundwave, defiance in their eyes. He ignored them, calling to the moon above.

"Flatline?"

"_Soundwave."_

"I will be deactivating the Pillar. Once I do this, lock onto it and retrieve it."

"_I am not your errand boy; I am the Decepticon medic and Barricade and Bludgeon need my attention—"_

"Flatline, I will not ask again."

There was silence on the other end.

"_Fine, but you owe me—"_

Soundwave cut him off. He moved towards the Pillar.

"It seems this old one has the right idea, only he lost his sanity in his lies," Soundwave noted to himself, "One should not act like a god all the time or you risk believing yourself one. And then it only requires one intrusion to bring you back to reality."

The people stopped in line as they saw Soundwave stop next to the Pillar. They looked up with mixed expressions, most of them resignation.

"But that is the way of every world; beauty is tarnished by ridicule."

Suddenly, Soundwave was brought down to the ground. Bumblebee wrestled him as Rumble and Ratbat cried out. Bumblebee sucker-punched the Decepticon while Soundwave grasped Bumblebee's head in his hands and started to pull.

"How strong is your neck?" Soundwave spat, trying to decapitate the Autobot.

An intense pain broke out upon his back and Soundwave roared with the fires of it.

"Good shooting," Epps told the men, "Now kill the rhino and the bat!"

As Rumble and Ratbat turned to fight the human reinforcements, Bumblebee let loose with an uppercut that almost decapitated Soundwave.

"Not again!" the Decepticon roared, grabbing Bumblebee by his head and throwing him into the trees. Turning, Soundwave withdrew a sonic cannon and fired at the Pillar.

Being a low powered shot, the blast knocked the Pillar down but didn't destroy it. The connection was broken immediately and the villagers broke into tears.

Babies cried as gods fought.

* * *

><p>Remembrance kicked Soundwave back as the Autobot pulled off a feint, before driving a blade down on the Seeker's staff. It broke in half and the ancient transformer fell back.<p>

"I realise now," Remembrance whispered as he retreated under Sideswipe's onslaught, "That what I have done up till now… all I've accomplished… will never be remembered…"

Sideswipe ignored him, slashing Remembrance's abdomen.

"And you… in the passage of time, you will not remember me… I go now to the Matrix… I have failed."

As the Seeker threw a right hook, Sideswipe leapt over it and—in mid-air—decapitated Remembrance with a swipe of his blade.

He landed perfectly as Remembrance's body fell to the ground, the ancient being finally resting.

Sideswipe did not pause to reflect and charged towards Soundwave's animals.

* * *

><p>Just as Pierre ran out of shells to fight off Laserbeak, the Pillar disappeared in a flash of blue light.<p>

"Flatline!" Soundwave roared, part of his mouth hanging from his face from where Bumblebee had smashed it, "Get us out of here!"

Just as Buzzsaw swooped down to intercept Sideswipe, Ratbat disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"You won't get away!" Bumblebee roared, using his arm cannon to blow a hole in Soundwave's shoulder, "Not this time!"

Sideswipe leapt in, slicing off one of Rumble's legs just as he disappeared.

"Get Soundwave!" Sideswipe cried, "Kill him before he escapes!"

Pierre screamed in pain as Laserbeak took out the captain's right eye with his tail. The vulture vanished as the light came for him.

Sideswipe brought his blade down on Buzzsaw, who vanished before the kill could be completed. And just as Ravage had butchered a Peruvian corporal, he disappeared as well.

Soundwave blew Bumblebee back with his sonic blaster, breathing hard. A sabot round slammed into his face and he heard the humans screaming, roaring, shouting, firing, dying—

—And then silence. Darkness closed in around him.

Bumblebee looked around, trying to find a target. When he found none, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The battle was over.

* * *

><p>Soundwave awoke.<p>

He stared at a darkened ceiling, the shadows traceable.

"Ah, his highness graces us with his revival," a voice sneered, "And here I was hoping I could open up your chest and fiddle with your carcass."

A one-eyed, horrifying face appeared over Soundwave. It was grinning.

Soundwave tried to speak, but no words came out.

"Don't move too much," Flatline cackled, "Or you will never move again. If you keep still, then you'll be healed before a quartex!"

Soundwave glowered at Flatline, who grinned back.

"In other news, Megatron is pleased with your recovery of the Pillar; he has despatched Shockwave to retrieve the other. You're back in his good books. Your animals are also doing fine."

Soundwave looked up at the ceiling again.

But Flatline was not finished.

"I heard all about your little adventure from Astrotrain; apparently a Seeker became a god," Flatline continued, "But from what I hear, he's no longer among the living…"

Flatline's face blocked Soundwave's view forcing him to look at the Decepticon medic.

"You see this?" Flatline asked, pointing at his missing optic, "I played with a human, who surprised me… he reminded me that we are not gods… _not yet_. So let me tell you something Soundwave; when you act all high and mighty, watching over that planet from wherever you cower… remember that you are as mortal as those humans you deal with…"

Flatline turned and headed for the exit to the room. He made one last passing remark.

"With that in mind, I don't expect to see you in this room again."

And then he was gone.

* * *

><p>"I've called for evac," Epps told the troops, "Whatever EMP that Seeker had going, it disappeared once he died."<p>

"Thank fuck," Sideswipe spat, his injuries still hurting, "I'm never entering a jungle again!"

But Bumblebee was silent. He looked at the villagers, who were crowding round Remembrance's body. No-one knew what to do with them.

"Bee?" Sideswipe asked, "What are you doing?"

"Look at them Sideswipe," Bumblebee told him, "They're weeping."

Indeed, they were. The villagers knelt by the Seeker's body, crying with despair. Some bowed their heads and wailed. It was a horrifying sound.

"The country's government will get them help," Sideswipe responded, "Don't worry…"

"But it was the only thing they knew… this life, this place," Bumblebee argued, "He was their god… their hope. What will they do now? This jungle was their whole life, so how will they find hope outside of it?"

Sideswipe couldn't answer.

"What have we done?" Bumblebee said angrily, "The Decepticons escaped with the Pillar, we've suffered casualties and these innocent people's lives have been ruined!"

"But Bee," Sideswipe argued, "They were going to be killed…"

"And what do you think they'll do now?" Bumblebee retorted, "Suicide, that's what…"

"Don't think like that—"

"What will happen then?" Bumblebee spat, "If not death by their own hands, then they'll be locked up in an asylum… for the rest of their lives. At least through the Pillar they went to death smiling…"

Sideswipe slapped Bumblebee. As they had been speaking in their own language, the HARP soldiers looked up in shock.

"Listen Bee," Sideswipe declared firmly, "We saved lives; that is what being an Autobot stands for. We're not Autobots so that we may fight Decepticons; we're Autobots so that we can save lives. And we did that today… and I'm happy with that result."

"If it just matters that you're happy, then that's selfish," Bumblebee whispered, "Look at them; are they happy you saved their lives?"

Sideswipe scowled.

"Let's just go home," he spat, "We can talk about this back at HARP HQ."

He turned and stalked off.

But Bumblebee did not watch him go.

He simply watched the people cry for their fallen god and their wails almost broke his heart.

And he envied the humans for being able to shed tears, while he could not.


	8. Bat Out of Hell

It took two weeks to make this one. From the length, you'll see why.

**Note:** I was recently watching TTGL, and watching that before creating anything does make it a little silly; so expect a little shade of crack-fic in this.

Also, our dog had to be put down halfway through writing this. Poor thing... :( So I'm writing this chapter in her memory, all 20,000 words of it!

(Before I forget, thank you **AnswertheCall **for your review!)

* * *

><p>Marcus concentrated. He really did.<p>

But still nothing appeared.

"Come on Marcus," Irving incited, "Give us something!"

In response, an image cropped up on the CVD screen.

From what Irving, Mason and Ishihara could see, it was a face.

But this was no human face. This was a Decepticon, with leering features and rows of teeth that could rend through steel. His four optics were shielded, protecting the vital instruments from harm, while the black and silver metal of his face seemed to glow in the… moonlight?

"Recognise him?" Ishihara asked.

"Barricade," Mason growled, "He was being hunted before NEST even came into existence. That slimy bugger was confirmed down in Chicago, yet somehow disappeared afterwards…"

"The remaining Decepticons rescued him?" Irving asked, "That's a bit charitable for them."

"In war, you need troops," Mason replied, "And when you're losing war, you take what you get."

Marcus saw the image of the Decepticon in his head. He couldn't shut it out.

_How is this even possible? I don't understand what's happening to me…_

**Who's there?**

Marcus opened his eyes in shock. The image began to fade.

"Don't lose it Marcus!" Irving said hurriedly, "We need this!"

Marcus closed his eyes and tried to concentrate again.

_Uh… hello?_

**Who's there?**

_Um… Marcus. Marcus Twist. I'm a human._

Marcus felt something tug at his sanity… something akin to rage.

**Why are you in my head human? **asked the voice like thunder.

_You're in my head!_

Silence. The rest of the room seemed oblivious to the conversation, as if it weren't even happening.

**This is strange… you claim that I am in your head?**

_Yes!_

**You are a human?**

_Yes…_

**Designate: Marcus Twist, human. How old are you?**

_Thirteen._

**Gender?**

_What does it sound like?_

**That is not an answer.**

_Duh! Why am I telling this to you anyway? Who are you?_

**I will not reveal that information to you.**

_Why not?_

**I will not hand over information to the enemy.**

And then it clicked. Marcus smiled at the realisation.

_You're Barricade aren't you?_

…

_Don't be shy. I know your name and you know mine; we're equal._

**Believe me Marcus Twist, there is nothing equal about us.**

_You look asleep… what are you doing?_

**You are watching me?**

_Yeah… your eyes, or whatever you look through, are closed._

**I believe I am in stasis lock. Although I have never suffered this sort of contact while in stasis lock.**

_You could be dead._

**That is a disturbing thought.**

_Yeah… what's the afterlife like?_

…**Empty.**

_Okay, I'm guessing you're still alive then. I don't think the afterlife would be like that._

**Indeed; I believe the Matrix would be much more hospitable than eternal darkness.**

_The Matrix?_

**The Matrix is where the warriors and wise men of Cybertron's legacy go when they die. The opposite is the Pit, a place of liquid fire and eternal torture.**

_Sounds like Heaven and Hell to me._

**Heaven and Hell?**

_Some humans believe that when we die, we're either awarded with a paradise called heaven if we do good deeds in life or we're given a place of damnation and horror called hell if we do bad ones._

…**They are quite similar.**

…_Our species _are_ similar, aren't they?_

**Hardly; you are weak and will be crushed, while we are strong and will succeed.**

_I'm not the one in stasis lock. I'm the one watching a Decepticon who's not sure if he's alive or dead._

**...You are very young to be in a war.**

_You're the guys who brought me into it! You and your pathetic Allspark._

**Allspark? …How exactly are we communicating?**

_I have no idea._

**Did you ever touch any part of the Allspark?**

Marcus frowned. There was something strange about this.

_Yeah… just a sliver._

**Have you been hearing voices?**

All of a sudden, Marcus felt a pain shear through his head, causing him to cry out.

Barricade disappeared.

Instead, he found himself looking at a Pillar inside a darkened room.

"What's going on?" Mason asked.

"It looks like…" Irving muttered, "…a Pillar!"

Marcus's vision panned out and he saw a warehouse surrounded by a fence with armed guards, before his view changed completely and he was left staring at a massive building in the middle of a strange city.

"Oh shit," Ishihara muttered.

"Is that where the Pillar is?" Irving asked, confused, "Where is that?"

"Mayday Stadium," Mason uttered with disgust.

"Uh, enlighten me please," Irving replied with a sigh.

Mason looked at him with steel in his eyes.

"It's the one place I would never want to go," he said, "Hell, I'd rather travel to the moon and fight Megatron himself than go there…"

"Where?" Irving asked desperately.

Mason grimaced.

"North Korea."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 8: Bat Out of Hell<span>

_When the day is done  
>And the sun goes down<br>And the moonlight's shining through…  
>Like a sinner before the gates of heaven<br>I'll come crawling on back to you_

—**Bat Out of Hell**

* * *

><p>"No, no, no, NO," Mearing stated stoically, "Absolutely not!"<p>

General Charles Mason sighed. He was back before the iron lady herself, this time in person after taking an incredibly taxing flight to Washington DC. Although he was still suffering jetlag, this meeting was important enough to go head-to-head with the secretary of defence.

"Ok, how about this then," Mason sighed, trying to renegotiate, "We open up a public communication, asking the Prime Minister to allow us in. Then Optimus will give one of his bullshit 'you will not take from us' speeches, we get the Pillar, and then we get out."

"You know Kim would never allow aliens beyond that iron curtain," Charlotte replied, "And it will never be as simple as asking for it; from what I see, there is no way to get our hands on it. We should concentrate on finding other Pillars… speaking of which, how did you find out about this one in the first place?"

Mason sighed. "With Soundwave about, you know I can't reveal top secret information about HARP's inner workings to outsiders… even ones as high up as yourself."

"Well, I don't see what can be done," Charlotte replied, "Use whatever tools you have at your disposal to find other Pillars… for once, I'd like to see HARP _win_ a battle."

Mason frowned at that. "You can't call Audi Sarabia a defeat; we got that bastard who's in the process of being nailed at The Hague—"

"And by all accounts, it looks like he's going to be set free," Charlotte replied, "You know how the judges are like with a 'lack of evidence'…"

"And you can't blame what happened in Peru on us either; our forces were ambushed by Soundwave. Despite that, they returned with minimal casualties and both Autobots intact."

"With what to show for it?" Charlotte responded, angry, "Listen Charles; we need results. Now. If you don't bring me something by the end the year, say five Pillars or the corpse of a Decepticon commander, then we may have to bring in someone new to take over HARP."

Mason breathed heavily. He was angry, but knew that showing it here would get him nowhere.

That night, he flew back to Nevada.

* * *

><p>"OPTIMUS!" Mason roared as soon as he stepped off the funicular, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"<p>

"Look who's back," Arcee growled, "I thought HARP had another beautiful day ahead of it without his presence."

"Roger that," Chromia replied with sigh.

Optimus came out of his energy-saving phase, opening his optics. He got to his feet, looking at Mason, who stood on a catwalk with venom in his eyes.

"General Mason," Optimus acknowledged.

"Optimus, prep your 'bots for immediate transportation to North Korea!" Mason yelled, "I don't want to see a single car in this base!"

"General?" Optimus questioned, "I thought we had no jurisdiction in that area of the world—"

"Of course we don't!" Mason cried, "That's why the Autobots have to go _alone_."

"Without human support?" Blazemaster questioned, "If any Decepticons crop up, we may need Colonel Lennox's troops; and we need one Autobot to stay behind to teleport us through."

"You can handle the Decepticons yourselves!" Mason dismissed, "I have faith in you!"

"What bullshit are you spewing now, General?" Kaminari Ishihara asked as she made her way onto the catwalk, clutching a very long parcel, "_You_ have faith in the Autobots? Don't make me laugh."

"That is insubordination!" Mason shouted, "Don't you dare disrespect me! As a side note, what are you carrying?"

"It's addressed to Colonel Lennox, _sir_," she replied sarcastically, "With the return address being St. Petersburg."

"Russia? What the hell do they want?"

"I've got a good idea," she replied slyly, "You have fun with convincing the Autobots why humans can't go with them."

She made her way towards where Colonel Lennox and several troops were gathered round a table, leaving Mason fuming.

"General?" Optimus asked patiently, "Why must the Autobots go alone?"

Mason sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"The fact is this; HARP is not allowed in North Korea. Therefore we must not send any HARP personnel there… but rogue Autobots could slip in fine…"

"'Rogue Autobots'?" Sideswipe growled, "Just what are you insinuating, General?"

"I'm saying that if all of you were to… disappear, and turn up in North Korea, HARP would of course have no idea how you ended up there."

"So General," Optimus sighed, "What you are saying is this; the Autobots will go to North Korea, without human support, and if we are successful in recovering the Pillar no-one will ever know about it, except within HARP… and if we fail, then we'll be on our own with no chance of escape?"

"Exactly!" Mason exclaimed, glad that the Autobot leader understood, "Any questions?"

"Yeah," Sideswipe muttered angrily, "Why in the flying fuck would we want to entertain you by going out to a diplomatic time-bomb of a country, risk our necks for one measly Pillar, escape with no support and all the while you're back here with your legs up and a bottle of debilitating poison in your hand, smugly knowing you've used us?"

"Although Sideswipe's choice of language is criticisable," Optimus admitted, "His opinion is similar to mine; why sneak behind other humans' backs to obtain a piece of our technology, in which patience and diplomatic discussions could reap further benefits?"

Surprisingly, Mason did not retort angrily. Instead, he raised his hands in submissive defeat.

"Fine then," Mason sighed, "I guess your right; it is a hefty risk that you would all take the fall for, and I can't force you to go, so there. No operation and no trip to North Korea. I guess we just leave the Pillar sitting in their camp."

Optimus frowned. Some of the other Autobots shifted uncomfortably.

"Is there no way we could just ask for the Pillar?" Ratchet asked, "Surely you could reach some sort of settlement?"

Mason faked a bemused laugh. "Oh no; we have absolutely no diplomatic relations with _that _country!"

"Then we will have to wait," Optimus said firmly, "Time will yield its own reward."

He turned, considering the conversation done.

But Mason smiled like a shark and pulled out his last card. "Of course… the Decepticons wouldn't play by those rules…"

Optimus turned back, his optics suddenly blazing. "What did you say?" he asked gruffly.

"Well, from what I can observe…" Mason said innocently, "Is that the last time we found a Pillar, the Decepticons were right there to pick it up. So, if the past is to be considered, if we've just found this Pillar, the Decepticons might know about it."

"Yeah!" called Fearswoop's voice from the other end of the base, "Even down here, I bet Soundwave could listen in!"

"Exactly," Mason uttered through gritted teeth, having the displeasure of concurring with the enemy, "So if we leave this be, the Decepticons may take it for themselves… and innocent lives might be taken as well…"

Optimus felt a shiver run down his spine. It was a feeling he had never had before… something so hauntingly repulsive, he would have shaken it off had it been something physical.

It was the feeling of being manipulated.

And it was from a smug, wide, little human.

"General Mason, I have every faith in your abilities to command and negotiate with members of your kind," Optimus uttered, his tone getting darker, "But if you try to twist my emotions for your own ends, do not believe you will get the results you desire."

"Oh Optimus, it was never about me," Mason responded, mocking the metal giant with his light tone of voice, "This is about the innocent lives you could save by just agreeing with me."

"The Decepticons may never even find that Pillar!" Optimus responded with rising anger.

"But there is a chance they might," Mason said with a chilling grin, "And that means there is a chance of lives being endangered…"

"I begin to realise what your species really is capable of," Optimus growled, "If every human can be as manipulative as you, maybe saving them is the _wrong thing to do_."

There was a collective gasp from the audience of Autobots. Never before had Optimus uttered words akin to condemning humans to death and never before had they imagined he would.

But Mason saw straight through it.

"Optimus, we both know the answer to that," he replied with the ease of a snake, "And as much as you may hate me, you must remember how much you liked Sam Witwicky. For those North Koreans are almost certainly not like me, but they are probably as innocent as Sam was. Would you allow those people to share Sam's fate?"

Optimus's optics stared into Mason's eyes with unbridled venom. Mason did not look away.

"I now know what sort of a man you are, General," Optimus muttered, "And I will not forget it."

"All I care for Optimus, are results," Mason replied, "And if you are the great leader you claim to be, you'll care for them as well."

Optimus said nothing.

"Right then," Mason said cheerfully, folding his arms, "Someone get that teleporter running!"

* * *

><p>Kaminari dropped the parcel on the table.<p>

"Whoa," Lennox warned, "You can't just dump your stuff all over the place like that Dr Ishihara—"

"It's addressed to you," she replied with a sly smile, "From Russia."

It took Lennox a few seconds to realise.

"No way," he muttered, tearing open the long parcel. The men around the table dropped their jaws when they saw what was inside.

It was an extremely long gun. It was around five feet in length, most of that length taken up by the barrel, with only a short grip and trigger at one end and a small chamber opening at the other. It was silver in colour with several locks and hatches all around the barrel, while dozens of strange black pellets were located around the gun.

Lennox picked up a letter attached to the gun.

"'Dear Colonel Lennox and Staff-Sergeant Epps,'" Lennox read out, "'Congratulations on the promotion Colonel and congratulations Staff-Sergeant for sticking it out without receiving one. As soon as I heard that the Decepticons were back in business and HARP needed help, I set about redesigning my old gas-powered rifle that was affective back in Peru; this is the result, that I thought you could use. This beautiful toy is the Electronic Late-Locking Interfering Precision Slug Impact Shooter, or the ELLIPSIS for short. It is a one-shot, bolt-action rifle which instead of shooting those silly old batteries, shoots something else entirely. Do you see the black pellets? They are the ammunition. Although it is too complicated to describe here fully, they actually act like black sticky putty that grows on the Decepticon armour. Sort of like black playdoh, except they make the Decepticons feel like they are in the electric chair.  
>Sorry for its length, but it was the only way to allow the slugs to achieve maximum velocity! I have countered this problem by making the gun lightweight, but its shape will make for difficult transportation. Hope you can cope.<br>Sincerely,  
>Petr Andronov'"<p>

"That crazy bastard," Epps muttered appreciatively, "He gives us a gun so big, we can't even fire it!"

"We could put it on a vehicle," Lennox mused, "Though first, we need to test it out—"

"Allow me," Ryder said, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing the weapon off the table. He flicked it into the air before catching it and twirling it like a professional. He flipped the gun round his arms and neck before pointing it straight at Optimus, who was in discussion with General Mason. The display had looked impossible, seeing as the weapon was almost as tall as Ryder was.

"Kid!" Lennox almost shouted, "Give that back! That's military property!"

"I know," Ryder replied, holding the huge ELLIPSIS in one hand while putting on his sunglasses with the other, "That was the only reason I grabbed it."

"Give it back," Lennox ordered, "Or you'll face the consequences."

"I'm a civilian," Ryder replied, "I'm no soldier; you can't order jack."

"The army has command over civilians! Now hand it over or I'll take it!"

"I'm no child either," Ryder muttered, taking out a cigarette and lighting it, "So come and take it."

Lennox decided not to waste time arguing with the possibly mental teenager and charged.

In response, Ryder threw the lit cigarette high into the air.

He quickly leapt over Lennox's tackle before kicking the Colonel in side, sending him sprawling. Epps was next, throwing a right hook that Ryder ducked under before nutting the Staff-Sergeant. Three more soldiers attacked, each of them beaten back by Ryder who let loose with a roundhouse kick, a palm strike to the solar plexus and great big thwack from the butt of the huge rifle.

Soon, only Kaminari Ishihara was left, staring at the five soldiers on the floor, all of them seeing stars.

Ryder held out a hand and caught the falling cigarette. He placed it in his mouth and puffed, sucking the debilitating smoke through his lungs.

Kaminari stepped forward.

Ryder took off his sunglasses. "You really want to fight me?"

"Yeah," Kaminari said, smiling sweetly, taking off her lab coat, "Surprised?"

"I don't usually fight women…" Ryder replied, putting his sunglasses back on, "…Because I usually have no need to enter the kitchen."

As Kaminari looked at him dumbly, they heard in the distance a certain Decepticon prisoner hoot. "Oh man, that was a good one!"

"Just for that," Kaminari said icily, "I'm going to make you cry."

"Bring it on," Ryder replied, clutching ELLIPSIS like a staff, "But I don't hit women."

"Shame," Kaminari snarled, "Because I hit the chivalrous twice as hard."

* * *

><p>"Why can't we come?" Marcus asked, "It isn't as if we'll be fighting Decepticons; we'll just be in a different country and only for a short while!"<p>

Optimus looked down at the kid. "I've told you before Marcus; no. We don't even know if the government of that country will respond aggressively or not."

"But if you take us, that would piss off General Mason!"

Optimus smiled. "Even that is not a good enough reason. I'm sorry Marcus, for I know that there is not much to do on the base and your connection to the Allspark fragment is being used for our benefit… but there is no other choice. Your accompaniment with us would just cause a landslide of trouble for everyone."

Marcus hung his head and looked at his shoes.

"And no amount of pitiful gestures will change my mind," Optimus chuckled, "Don't worry… when I return, I'll help find something for you to do."

"Optimus!" Ratchet called from the Pillar control centre, "It's live; we've got coordinates!"

"Good work Ratchet," Optimus responded, "Are we able to go through?"

Ratchet's metallic features were creased with concentration and frustration. "There are some problems; we've used the Pillars quite a lot recently, so they're a bit on the fritz."

"But will they get us through safely?" Optimus asked.

"I think so," Ratchet replied hesitantly.

"'Think' is not good enough Ratchet; is our safety confirmed?"

"Yes… yes it is sir!" Ratchet replied, "You guys can go through while Bumblebee and I guard the fort."

"Roger that old friend," Optimus said with a smile, "We'd best move as fast as possible."

As Optimus strode off to gather the troops, Stacy strode up to Marcus.

"You really want to go with them, don't you?" she asked.

"More than anything in the world," Marcus replied, miserably, "The adventures they've been through, the battles they've fought…"

"There's nothing fun about battles," Stacy chided, "We're in the middle of a war!"

"So?" Marcus asked angrily, "There's no war here; it's just men in uniforms and sulking robots."

They watched as the Autobots headed towards the light of the Pillars.

"You know, I just wish we could join them… just once… just to see what it's like…"

* * *

><p>Ryder stood off against Kaminari. He hadn't broken a sweat, his glasses still on and his cigarette still in his mouth. The rifle was strong in his hands.<p>

By comparison, Kaminari was breathing heavily, sweat running down her skin. Despite her huge amount of training in several different martial arts, she hadn't even landed a blow on Ryder, who dodged like a mongoose against a cobra. And, true to his word, he hadn't hit back, despite many chances he could have taken. Any smart person would have bet on the mongoose.

Indeed, that's exactly what the soldiers who had gathered were doing. A circle of soldiers had formed around them, each one cheering on their respective side which unanimously seemed to be Kaminari. Lennox and Epps roared loudest.

"You're fast… kid," Kaminari panted, "Where'd you… learn… karate?"

"Self-taught," Ryder admitted arrogantly, "You can't learn more from that…"

"Bullshit," Kaminari laughed, "There's no way… you could have taught yourself… those moves!"

Ryder shrugged.

Kaminari looked over his shoulder towards the Pillars' light.

"Looks like the Autobots are leaving," she sighed.

"Really?" Ryder asked, suddenly interested. He turned to look.

Kaminari struck. She leapt into the air and launched a kick at Ryder, flying through the air like an arrow.

Ryder, without turning around, ducked.

Kaminari had no way of turning her direction or stopping her journey.

Lennox didn't even have time to move from his position in the crowd.

As the two collided into a heap, Ryder removed something from his old duster coat.

"I knew this would come in handy someday," he said.

"What's that?" Epps asked.

"Flashbang," Ryder replied, dropping it.

As a searing light and ear-splitting noise echoed through the room, Ryder leapt over the blinded crowd and ran towards the Pillar area.

"What the hell was that?" Marcus asked as Ryder passed, not that affected from the grenade which had exploded at the other end of the room.

Ryder stopped in his tracks and looked them up and down.

"What the hell _is_ that?" Stacy asked, eyeing ELLIPSIS.

Ryder spoke with a smile. "Ever wonder what's beyond heaven's light?"

"W-What?"

Ryder took the belt from his jeans and tied it to opposite ends of ELLIPSIS, allowing him to sling it over his back. He took Marcus's and Stacy's hand in one of his.

"Let's go!" he suddenly yelled as the last Autobot passed through the Pillars.

He ran towards them, Marcus and Stacy in tow.

"Wait!" Stacy called.

"NO!" Ratchet roared, "The Pillars are deactivating; the coordinates are not locked on!"

But it was too late. The three kids disappeared through the Pillars.

The light disappeared.

And all that was left was the ringing from the grenade.

* * *

><p>TransfORmersFan00912: And then he was like 'OMG NO WAY!'<br>Bumblebee20: LOLZ!  
>TransfORmersFan00912: I know right!<br>Lord_Fearswoop **has entered the chat**  
>Lord_Fearswoop: Soundwave! Are you out there?<br>TransfORmersFan00912: Hello Swoopy!  
>Bumblebee20: LOLZ! Wat sort of name is Feerswoopp?<br>Lord_Fearswoop: Soundwave! This is Fearswoop; I'm being held by the Autobots!  
>TransfORmersFan00912: LOL, hes acting like hes a real transformer! Loser!<br>Lord_Fearswoop: Hey! Who'd you think you're talking to!  
>Bumblebee20: A LOSER! ROFL!<br>Lord_Fearswoop: Want to hear a joke?  
><span>Harbinger<span> **has entered the chat.**  
>TransfORmersFan00912: As long as its a good one…<br>Bumblebee20: YEAH!  
>Lord_Fearswoop: What's the difference between women and doors?<br>TransfORmersFan00912: Hmm…  
>Bumblebee20: TELL US!<br>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis **has entered the chat.**  
>Lord_Fearswoop: A door doesn't moan when you slam it!<br>Lord_Fearswoop: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  
>TransfORmersFan00912: EWW! Thats grotty! GTFO!<br>Bumblebee20: I don't get it.  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Fearswoop, enough petulant mingling; what are you doing contacting me over the human internet?<br>TransfORmersFan00912: Hello Soundwavey!  
>TransfORmersFan00912: Hang on…<br>Lord_Fearswoop: Oh wow, it really worked! Soundwave, I'm being held by the Autobots! HELP!  
>TransfORmersFan00912: LOLZ, loser cosplayers!<br>Bumblebee20: I DON'T GET IT.  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Fearswoop, I am entirely aware of your predicament. Now cease communication.<br>Lord_Fearswoop: WAIT! I overheard them talk about a Pillar!  
>TransfORmersFan00912: Wait a sec… Soundwave… Fearswoop… Pillar…<br>TransfORmersFan00912: ARE YOU GUYZ REAL DECEPTICONS?  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Fearswoop, I know of the Pillar and of your location. Already a human has realised who we are; cease communication on the internet IMMEDIATLEY.<br>Lord_Fearswoop: If you already know where I am…  
>Lord_Fearswoop: RESCUE ME!<br>Bumblebee20: I DON'T GET IT!  
>TransfORmersFan00912: IMA CALLING ALL MY FRIENDS!<br>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Current extraction from HARP HQ is impossible, the Pillar is already being secured by Shockwave, a human now knows of us and you are starting to irritate me. If indeed you wish to be rescued, CEASE COMMUNICATION IMMEDIATLEY.  
>Lord_Fearswoop: Sure boss, fine…<br>Lord_Fearswoop: One last thing…  
>Lord_Fearswoop: They found out the Pillar from a boy; I overheard one of the scientists! He has some really freaky power! He could be important!<br>Lord_Fearswoop: Soundwave?  
>Bumblebee20: RARGH! SOMEONE EXPLAIN THE JOKE!<br>Lord_Fearswoop: Soundwave?  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Listen to me carefully Fearswoop: When you are rescued (and I assure you, you will be rescued) DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE BOY. He is to be kept a secret from Megatron and the rest. Promise me this and I will attempt to rescue you as soon as possible.<br>TransfORmersFan00912: OK! Im back! What did I miss?  
>Lord_Fearswoop: Sure Soundwave… I promise. Fearswoop out.<br>Lord_Fearswoop **has left the chat.**  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Excellent… this is all going smoothly…<br>Bumblebee20: SOUNDWAVE! PLEASE EXPLAIN THE JOKE!  
>Left4DeadPwnage <strong>has entered the chat.<strong>  
>Spyro's_Girlfriend007 <strong>has entered the chat.<strong>  
>Left4DeadPwnage: Alright Meg, what is this about "real" transformers?<br>TransfORmersFan00912: Ryan I swear to you that theres these two Decepticons called Soundwave and Fearswoop! You know from the TV?  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: This is bad…<br>TransfORmersFan00912: THATS HIM! THATS SOUNDWAVE!  
>Spyro's_Girlfriend007: Seriously Meg? You think that's an actual transformer?<br>TransfORmersFan00912: They were talking about transformer stuff!  
>Bumblebee20: I. DON'T. GET. IT!<br>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Now listen up, all of you. If any of you repeat what you read here today, I will do the following…  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Barry Worthington of 13 Maple Road, Austin, Texas?<br>Left4DeadPwnage: HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: I will send Buzzsaw to peck out your ocular organs and feast on your brain, from which he will precede to burn down your house along with your mother who you hold dear to heart, thanks to information I gleaned from your laptop. Keep your diary on paper next time.<br>Left4DeadPwnage **has left the chat.**  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Hannah Moore of 26 Galveston Avenue, London, England?<br>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: I will send Ravage to tear out your spine, after which he will snap your knees and feast on your breasts… a text from your boyfriend Richard Cunningham at 17:23 yesterday complimented the size of them; Ravage will enjoy his meal.  
>Spyro's_Girlfriend007 <strong>has left the chat.<strong>  
>TransfORmersFan00912: DONT YOU DARE THREATEN ME! MY DADS IN THE NAVY!<br>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Megan Swan of 5 Vine Street, Salt Lake City, Utah?  
>TransfORmersFan00912 <strong>has left the chat.<strong>  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Too bad… I had a really good one for her…<br>Bumblebee20: THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN! THAT WAS SO DAMN CREEPY!  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Dakota Jameson of 53 Topaz Lane, Perdido Beach, California?<br>Bumblebee20: YEAH? WOT?  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: I will personally visit your house and rip your family to shreds, before taking you myself. I will take great pleasure in tearing you apart from the inside out.<br>Bumblebee20 **has left the chat.**  
>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis: Humans are so easily intimidated. I would have actually followed up on those threats if I wasn't stuck in Flatline's abattoir…<br>Soundwave_CaptainOfTheNemesis **has left the chat.**  
><span>Harbinger<span> **has left the chat.**  
><strong>The chat is now closed.<strong>

* * *

><p>Marcus opened his eyes.<p>

The morning sun was rising.

He sat up, his head dizzy. He looked around, to see he was in a strange looking field with strange looking plants, no doubt a farm of some kind. He saw someone else lying in the grass…

"Stacy!" he tried to say, but found that his throat was completely dry.

A shadow fell over him. He looked up.

"Here," said the shadow, handing him a bottle of water.

"Ryder," Marcus gasped after several gulps, "What have you done?"

"I seem to have taken us all to North Korea," he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, "We're in the middle of someone's rice paddy. Although I don't see any Autobots…"

"Stacy!" Marcus called and ran to her. She was on her back, eyes open, looking very confused.

"Marcus?" she whispered, "What happened?"

"We're in North Korea," Marcus replied, handing over the water, "We travelled through the Pillars—"

Marcus gasped in pain as she kneed him in the genitals.

"What was that for?" he gasped in pain and fell to the ground.

"YOU IDIOT!" she screeched, "WHY'D YOU TAKE ME HERE? I WAS JUST FINE AT HARP!"

"It wasn't me!" Marcus moaned as Stacy kicked him repeatedly, "It was Ryder!"

Stacy turned to the older boy, who was watching the pair of them with bemused fascination.

"You sonofabitch!" she roared, leaping at him. He stepped to the side, sending her crashing into the paddy.

And then a new voice could be heard. It was angry and coming their way.

"Oh crap," Marcus muttered, "Ryder, we'd better go…"

"Why?" Ryder asked, placing ELLIPSIS on his shoulders, "I'd like to see where a conversation with an angry Korean rice paddy farmer will take us."

"Well unless you have a Korean translator in that coat of yours," Marcus retorted angrily, "We're pretty screwed."

"You'd be surprised what my coat contains…"

They saw the farmer approach, his sharp eyes containing unbridled fury with a heavy pitchfork in one hand. He was shouting a variety of North Korean curses as he approached them.

"Evening good sir!" Marcus suddenly called, changing his tune as the farmer approached, "How goes this day?"

Ryder sighed. He shook his head regrettably.

"What?" Marcus asked as the farmer arrived in front of them, "Even if he doesn't know English, it doesn't hurt to be polite—"

The farmer suddenly jabbed Marcus with the pitchfork, who fell back, yelling.

"Ryder!" Marcus cried, "Knock the crazy bastard out!"

But instead, Ryder placed a hand on the shoulder of the angry farmer and spoke to him in fluent Korean.

The man replied, surprised. He spoke animatedly.

Ryder looked at Marcus. "Marcus you dolt. Didn't you see the 'no trespassers' sign on the way in?"

Marcus looked at Ryder in amazement. "We were teleported! How could I have—" but already Ryder was back in conversation with the farmer. Ryder pointed at Marcus and made a sign with his head and his hand. The farmer laughed.

"Hey!" Marcus called "You better not be telling him I'm crazy!"

The farmer then pointed to down the field and made several pointing gestures with his hand. Ryder seemed to thank him before moving to pick up Marcus.

"Alright then," Ryder said, "If anyone asks, we are a circus group on our way to Pyongyang; a knife-throwing act. I'm the knife thrower, Stacy's my assistant and we're travelling with a mental patient."

"Hey!" Marcus called again, angry, "What did you really tell him about me?"

"You got me; you're actually our dog."

"Screw you," Marcus muttered, "What's our real cover?"

"Almost exactly that; we are a circus act. I'm the knife thrower, Stacy is the assistant and you are the knife catcher."

Marcus looked up at him in disbelief. "Knife… 'catcher'?" he asked slowly.

"Sure; when I throw knives at you, you catch them."

"Great," Marcus replied dryly, "I can see no possible way in which this can go wrong."

Stacy had finally worked up the energy to pick herself up, getting back on her own two feet. She approached them, more tired now than angry.

"Where are we going?" she huffed, "And please don't say 'dunno'."

"Pyongyang," Ryder replied, "The Autobots would head to Pyongyang; Optimus would negotiate, not steal."

"Where?" Marcus asked, his interest piqued.

Ryder shook his head in disappointment. "Did no-one teach you any geography? Pyongyang is the capital of this country."

"So where is it?" Stacy asked.

Ryder looked towards the exit to the paddy.

"Not here," he replied.

* * *

><p>Optimus looked around him.<p>

"Are we all here?" he asked, looking round at the Autobots.

"Me, sis, Blazemaster, Sideswipe, Mirage and you," Chromia replied, "With the exception of Ratchet and Bumblebee, who had to stay behind, we're all here."

"Good," Optimus said, satisfied. He turned to Blazemaster. "Where is the Pillar's location?"

"A few miles north of here," Blazemaster replied, "We could be in and out before anyone gets wind of it."

"Excellent," Optimus replied, "Then let's go."

He started to lead the Autobots away.

"Uh, sir?" Blazemaster questioned, "The Pillar is to the north; you're heading south."

"Indeed I am," Optimus replied with a small smile.

"So… why are we heading south?"

"We will head for the capital of Pyongyang," Optimus replied, "To negotiate for the Pillar there."

"But sir!" Blazemaster argued, "General Mason told us to retrieve it and then—"

"Blazemaster, do you not remember how we work?" Optimus said, with no hint of scolding in his voice, "We will not go behind the backs of humans and steal from them; we are not common thieves. We are peacemakers, so we will peacefully request for the Pillar. We will negotiate until we get it."

"What about the Decepticons? They could be here at any minute."

"We will tell the humans that," Optimus responded with age and wisdom on his side, "This country is not blind; they will have heard about what the Decepticons did to Chicago. They will listen."

Blazemaster nodded. "I understand sir… but they still might not hand it over. Certain humans have proved stubborn in the past; what will we do if they do not deliver?"

Optimus frowned. "Then we might leave here with nothing. Understand this Blazemaster; I will not endanger human lives, especially not for technology used for our war. I would never forgive myself."

Blazemaster nodded, but as Optimus turned he heard a familiar message in his ear.

"_Optimus...went with...do you hear me?"_

"Ratchet," Optimus replied, "Our connection is poor… although I don't know why…"

"_Optimus...kids...39 miles..."_

"It seems something is jamming us," Optimus told Ratchet, "Don't worry Ratchet; we will get the Pillar."

As Ratchet faded into static, Sideswipe looked up at Optimus. "It looks like these humans may have experimented on the Pillar and might have found a way to block our communications. We should get it as soon as possible."

"Or the Decepticons are here," Optimus said darkly, "Let's move."

Together, they all headed south.

* * *

><p>"Oh crap," Marcus muttered, "What did you tell them Ryder?"<p>

"I think I got the words 'tell us' mixed up with 'assholes'," Ryder replied, "It's gotten me in trouble before."

The three kids held their hands up, staring down the barrels of several rifles held by an angry squad of the KPA. Upon seeing they were foreigners, the truck had pulled up and the soldiers had questioned them. And obviously, Ryder had said something he shouldn't have.

The angry squad leader was questioning Ryder, who seemed amused by the whole scenario.

"What do we do?" Stacy asked.

"We're trying to reach Pyongyang, right?" Ryder replied, "So if they take us in, we'll be taken to their capital."

"How are you so sure?" Stacy hissed, "They could just take us to a nearby police station!"

"We're foreigners; this country doesn't get a lot of foreigners, so one of their top commandants would probably like to see us, probably to see if we are spies."

"But we're kids!" Stacy replied.

Ryder looked at the soldiers. "So are they."

Marcus looked and realised that most of the squad seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen. They wore hard faces, to cover the confusion of why these three American kids were here.

Ryder continued to nod at the sergeant's continued questioning. He replied a couple of times. The sergeant began to shout. Ryder smiled and continued to talk. Eventually, all three were ordered into the truck.

"What did you say?" Marcus whispered.

"Our cover has changed; our parents are missionaries who have just come out of China. Stacy and I are their son and daughter."

"What about me?"

"You are an orphan we adopted from Russia," Ryder said with all seriousness, "You had been vasectomised by a pair of drunken monks."

"Vasectowhat?" Marcus asked, "What does that even mean?"

"You don't know?" asked Ryder, surprised, "By your weak-hearted nature, I assumed it had been done already."

"What are you talking about?" Marcus hissed angrily, "What does that word mean?"

He looked around the truck and saw all the North Korean soldiers staring at him with worried, cautious and sympathetic glances.

"I swear Ryder, I'll get you for this," muttered Marcus as the truck went on its way.

* * *

><p>"He's gone nuts," said Skystalker, who lounged in the junk like an alley cat, "I don't even know why I'm with you guys."<p>

"Because you are a Seeker," Thundercracker replied irritably, "And as Lord Starscream is the leader of our noble order, you will follow him."

"'Noble order'?" Overcast cackled, "There's nothing noble about our little group; Starscream just likes to get a little nostalgic over ancient history."

The 'Seekers' were all lying about the scrapyard. They looked like a bunch of defeated soldiers, all of them milling about in heaps of scrap under the shadow of a rusted watertower. Starscream had long since gone for a walk in the desert, giving no other reason than "I need it."

"He's probably gone batshit crazy," Ruination agreed, "But at least this place is warmer than the _Ark_."

"You are all pathetic," snarled Thundercracker, "Everyday, you just lie here and moan. You are all wasting away and you don't even know it."

"Oh really?" asked Overcast, "Then how does your majesty prove himself above us mere machines?"

"I have a trait more important than strength or cunning," Thundercracker replied, "A trait you all openly say you do not have."

"What?" asked Space Case.

Thundercracker almost spat it out. "Loyalty! Without loyalty there can be no foundation for success or order; loyalty is what drives mighty empires and splits your foes asunder! I am loyal… and you all fight for scraps of power, scraps that no longer exist upon this planet…"

Although most of the Decepticons laughed or jeered at that, two did not. Space Case looked up at Thundercracker like he was in the presence of a god, while Skystalker stared coldly at the blue warrior.

"It is ironic that you talk of loyalty Thundercracker," snarled Skystalker, "Seeing as Starscream would betray you in a power spike for personal gain! He has eyed up Megatron's position for years now and would have attempted to take it if it weren't for Shockwave and Soundwave's presence!"

Thundercracker glared at Skystalker with utter malevolence. "My loyalty to Lord Starscream is as assured as my survival; I was the one who helped resurrect you all, don't you forget that," he uttered, "And what of your loyalty? What do you believe in?"

"I don't believe in Starscream, that's for sure," Skystalker replied, "It was loyalty to him that cost me my life in the first place! As for what I believe in… I believe in myself, for I know that if I ever go wrong in life, I won't have the chance to blame myself…"

"And what will you ever accomplish?" snarled Thundercracker, "What will 'believe in yourself!' Skystalker ever do in his life that is of worth?"

"I don't need to answer to you!" Skystalker replied, "You might have been a big shot on Cybertron 'commander' and all, but in this pile of tin and insect waste, you are nothing!"

"Incorrect," said another voice, "We are all something."

The Decepticons looked up the watertower, tracking the shadows towards the very top. Standing on top, with talons stretched into the old metal, was the grotesque silhouette of Starscream.

"Uh, um, Lord Starscream!" Skystalker suddenly stuttered, "It-It's good to see you—"

"Save me your pathetic simpering, you simpleton," spat Starscream, "I heard you, as did I hear you all. Don't try to weasel your way out of this; if you are to die, stand up strong and take it!"

All except Thundercracker looked up with fearful faces, their lives hanging in the balance. Starscream dropped down from the tower to look at them all, sneering.

"Pathetic," he snarled, "When did you all lose your backbone? Who among you, in your treacherous whispers, would dare challenge me?"

None stepped forward.

"You weaklings!" Starscream roared, "The punishment for treason is death, yet you stand here, too afraid to either fight me or run away—"

"But isn't that what _you _are like with Megatron?" Overcast interrupted, "A snivelling coward?"

Starscream turned to look at his challenger, eyes piercing Overcast, as if viewing his very thoughts. Overcast shifted uncomfortably.

"And what of you Overcast?" asked Starscream, "Would you get down on your knees and bark like a dog? Would you bow so low, your spine would break? If you don't believe in the way I work, what do you believe in?"

"I believe in the destruction of the Autobots," Overcast replied, optics trying to stare out Starscream, "But you will not deliver it!"

The other Seekers watched them, like animals in a cage.

"I will not deliver destruction over the Autobots?" Starscream asked, "You do not believe in my power? The only reason you have yet to take up blows against me is because you know of the Autobots I have killed… and it has been many."

Overcast glared. "And with Megatron's return, what has _Lord _Starscream done of note? Absolutely nothing. Even now, when you have been grounded to this planet, you just stare up at the sun and wax lyrical of the past."

"Ah, so you speak these treacherous thoughts not because of what I do, but of what I do _not _do?" questioned Starscream, "I see… Space Case!"

The timid Seeker jumped out of his skin, shocked that he was being called upon.

"Yes boss?"

"What would you rather be doing?" Starscream asked, "Sitting here, under the sun and its shadows, or fighting Autobots?"

At first, Space Case nearly said he would have preferred to stay. But then he looked up at the sun, its yellow beams cast down upon him.

"Well… it's not our sun…"

Starscream looked at him then, a strange look on his face.

Space Case looked back. "I would rather be fighting Autobots boss!" he replied.

The Seekers were silent, watching Starscream for his next move.

"Then we will fight them," uttered Starscream, his tone darkening, "We have hidden to long in the dark of the moon and the shadows of the sun; we will bring the fight to them and kill every last one of them!"

The other Decepticons looked up in amazement. Starscream pointed towards the sky.

"We will fly straight to their headquarters and wipe out every single one of them!" he roared, "If you test my courage, then I will test yours! If you test my loyalty, then I will test yours! I wish for nothing more than to carry forth the Decepticon cause; peace through tyranny! Without order, there can be no loyalty, and without loyalty nothing can be born anew!"

The Decepticons whooped and cheered. Even Overcast and Skystalker gave little smiles.

"So swear your loyalty to me and we will conquer this planet in the name of the Decepticons!" cried Starscream, "Swear your loyalty to me and we will destroy the bastard Autobots! SWEAR LOYALTY TO ME AND I WILL GRANT YOU VICTORY!"

All the Decepticons roared and exclaimed their support, raising their arms in the air in adulation of Lord Starscream.

"We will show the galaxy that Optimus and Megatron are not the only big players in the cosmos," Starscream began to finish, "We will show them what we are made of; we will be the elite of our faction. We are unstoppable, undeniable and unbeatable; we are the Seekers! And the Seekers are the lords of the sky and the custodians of our race! We will punish our destroyed planet's war criminals, one after another…"

Starscream boosted up to the watertower and looked down on them all.

"…Starting with Optimus Prime! He has allied himself with the bastard insects, whose power we have underestimated in the past… that has led to dire consequences… no longer! If we strike hard and we strike fast at their nerve centre, they will break! They will know pain like no other! They will know despair unimaginable! THEY WILL RUE THE DAY THEY DOOMED OUR PLANET TO DEATH!"

Crying their support and whooping with unbridled joy, the Seekers transformed and shot into the air, Starscream at their head.

"Come my brothers!" he called as the fifteen of them shot through the clear blue sky, "For now, we ride the atmosphere and traverse the heavens to our destiny; THE DESTRUCTION OF THE AUTOBOTS!"

And as the mix of jets and helicopters screamed through the sky, Starscream could not think of anything more pleasurable than the misery he intended on causing.

* * *

><p>Marcus, Stacy and Ryder looked at the smart-dressed, well-mannered, KPA colonel.<p>

"I am Colonel Sung-Si," the colonel told them in English, smiling, "And apparently, you three are Marcus, Stacy and Ryder, correct?"

"Sure, whatever," Marcus replied, not really believing he was actually here.

They were all seated in front of the colonel's desk, having been taken to one of Pyongyang's army barracks. They were in the colonel's office, which was filled with paintings of leaders and generals, along with an assortment of militaristic paraphernalia on his desk. Most impressive of all hung on the wall behind him; a long, beautiful spear.

"Nice spear," Marcus said, nodding at the wall behind the colonel.

The colonel smiled, but ignored him.

"First off," the colonel said, "Where did you get that peculiar rifle?"

"That?" Ryder asked, "It's just a Chinese toy, supposedly modelled off one of their old matchlock things."

Sung-Si frowned at that, but kept his smile up. He obviously didn't believe Ryder, but decided to move on.

"You claim that you are the sons and daughter of missionaries," Sung-Si continued, still smiling, "Pray tell, where are your parents?"

"Out of town," replied Ryder dryly, "They're converting some Juche idiots in the north."

Sung-Si frowned, obviously disliking Ryder's tone and views. "You do not believe in Juche? Most of the people in this fine country do."

"How are people the masters of everything?" Ryder argued, "Since when did the North Koreans have a proper grasp of space travel?"

"You are obviously not aware of our country's policy on religion," Sung-Si said with an unnerving grin, "Juche _is_ what people here believe. And you would do well not to argue against it."

Ryder shrugged, before giving an equally unnerving smile back. "Although it makes you think, doesn't it? If aliens like the Autobots exist, who's to say gods don't?"

But before Sung-Si could retort, Marcus interrupted. "Hey, guys?" he said, "All this religious/theology talk is really interesting, but what the hell has it got to do with us?"

"Good point," Sung-Si replied, still grinning, "We will need to find your parents and tell them where you are. What are their numbers?"

"Ah," Stacy muttered.

"They don't have mobiles," Ryder replied, "They said they would be back in a few days."

"They left you in a road for a few days?" asked Sung-Si sceptically, raising an eyebrow.

"No. They left us in a field; we found the road."

"Of course," Sung-Si said dryly, "Well then… it seems you will be needing accommodation for the next few days; I believe we have such a place. Unless you wish to sleep with the soldiers in the barracks?"

"Tempting, but no thanks," Marcus replied with a smile, trying to socialise himself with the colonel, "We'll choose what you have."

"I thought you would," responded Sung-Si, keeping up his crocodile smile, "Shall we go to them?"

"Wait a sec," Stacy interrupted, "Are they, um… comfortable accommodations?"

Sung-Si smiled his most suspicious grin yet. "The very finest."

* * *

><p>"You liar!" Stacy roared from behind the cell bars, "You'll get yours!"<p>

Being thrown into a North Korean police station's cell rivalled being in Dead End's front seat for worst accommodation in Marcus and Stacy's history.

"This is nothing," Ryder said, his sunglasses still on, "You should of seen some of the gulags I've toured in."

"You idiot!" Stacy screeched, "This is all your fault!"

"Mine?" Ryder questioned, "How can you blame me? That Sung-Si son-of-a-ten-dollar-whore threw us in here."

"You dragged me into those Pillars!" Stacy roared, "And you were the one with the ridiculous cover stories! And you've even lost HARP's new weapon to boot! It's all your fault!"

"Whatever," Ryder replied, shrugging, "But you've got to admit; it's been a pretty good adventure so far."

Stacy huffed and sat on the cold cell floor. She looked through the bars, seeing only the corridor and its grey wall.

"Why did I even get in that blasted Decepticon?" she whispered, "It feels like a lifetime ago… and I bet it's been no more than a couple of months."

Marcus frowned at Ryder, before going over to Stacy and sitting down beside her.

"Hey, it's all right," Marcus told her, "We're still alive; we're still here. And as long as we stay that way, nothing can stop us! We've been together since, like… forever, you know? We can't be split apart, especially by some arrogant nob in an ugly uniform."

Stacy smiled at that. "And if Ryder is right, then the Autobots will turn up soon, knowing that we went through the Pillars—"

"Incorrect," Ryder interrupted.

Stacy frowned. "But that's what you said—"

"It is indeed what I said, but what you quoted was wrong; the Autobots will not turn up soon."

"Why not?"

"Because they're already here."

* * *

><p>As they entered the city, all the Autobots except Optimus gazed around with confusion.<p>

"Uh, Optimus?" Arcee asked, "Not to be vain, but I expected even a couple of people to be on the streets to see us."

Indeed, everywhere the Autobots looked, the streets of Pyongyang were empty. There was not a soul in sight, as if they had stumbled upon the largest ghost town in history.

"It is because a curfew has been ordered, Arcee, because of our presence" Optimus replied, his eyes hard, "This country is steeped in… unfortunate history."

"Unfortunate?"

"With the possible exception of nearby China, nearly every country is shunned by North Korea; in the past few years, tensions have risen dramatically. There are many restrictions laid on the people of this land; they have no freedom of speech and heavy laws secure their role in helping the country. Only by working in the government can you get out of this place."

"This sounds like something the Decepticons would coop up if they were in charge," spat Chromia, "Some of these insects are really quite distasteful."

"Don't be so quick to judge Chromia," Blazemaster told her, "I don't even think the Decepticons would have a working system, let alone form a faction with its own frontiers."

"The people here also believe in a philosophy that has been passed down by their governments for years," Optimus continued, "Instead of believing in a god, or other religions, they believe that they are the 'masters of the land, masters of everything.'"

"Yeah," Chromia said sarcastically to Blazemaster, "That doesn't sound like the Decepticons at all."

"I do not judge them on what they believe Chromia, nor do I stand against it," Optimus told her, "It is how they act on their beliefs, that I judge them. Most of the people here are innocent; their masters have a more… questionable moral outlook."

"So where are the masters of this land, then?" Chromia snarled, "All I see are empty streets and the homes of frightened people."

"They reside there," Optimus replied, pointing to a large building far into the city, "The Kamsusan Eternal Palace."

As they approached the palace, they began to realise its size. Although it wouldn't have compared to anything on Cybertron, the Kamsusan Eternal Palace was massive; it stood on the edge of a humongous square that was only ever used for public speeches and military demonstrations. The palace loomed over them, its history steeped with the voices that heralded tyranny and conquest. Pillars almost as tall as Optimus held up an arch over two ginormous wooden doors. And it was at these doors where the first signs of human life were located.

Two guards stood outside the door, holding their rifles like new-born sons, staring straight ahead, unafraid (or to professional to show it) when faced with the almighty Autobots.

"We wish to speak with your ruler," Optimus told them from high above, "I am Optimus Prime; leader of the Autobots."

One of the men pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

"Who's their leader?" Mirage asked.

"A contemptible little shit named Kim," Blazemaster replied, "Kim's recent rise to leader has been the start of an age of tyranny in this country, unseen by any outside eyes; tourists are about as welcome as the plague."

"Plague?" Mirage asked, "What in Pit's name is the plague?"

"Do you remember those rust-worm infections back in Burthov?"

"Yeah."

"It's like that, but for organics."

"Ah."

"We better be quiet," Arcee said, hushing them, "I can see Kim through the doors."

The huge, heavy doors swung outward, the guards moving aside.

With a retinue of advisors, military officers and other assorted government officials, the supreme commander of North Korea came striding out to meet them, undaunted by the towering titans of steel.

Kim looked up at the six Autobots.

"Well," she said, smiling, "There's something you don't see every day."

* * *

><p>"You serious?" Stacy asked, "Optimus is here?"<p>

Night had fallen. The darkness penetrated their cell, leaving a grim, spooky atmosphere.

"I can hear him talking with the leader of this hellhole," Ryder replied, "At the palace we saw when we came in. By the sound of it, they don't know we're here."

"What?" Marcus exclaimed, shocked, "Why not?"

Ryder shrugged.

"We have to shout then!" Marcus said, "We have to get their attention!"

Ryder shrugged again. "Go ahead; but I'm not busting out till I've got my hands back on ELLIPSIS and Sung-Si spends the rest of his life eating through a straw."

Although Stacy would normally argue against such a violent response, her current predicament didn't exactly make her sympathetic towards the Korean officer.

"OPTIMUS!" Marcus roared, banging his hands against the bars, "IT'S MARCUS! WE'RE IN HERE!"

"The plans of the protagonist are indescribably complicated in nature," Ryder sighed.

"SHUT YOUR WHINING AND START SHOUTING TO BE RESCUED!" Marcus cried in anger and desperation, "HELP!"

Someone pelted down towards the corridor towards the cell. It was a police officer, obviously angry at having his break interrupted by an angry Marcus.

He shouted at Marcus in Korean, obviously wanting him to shut up.

And then something hit Marcus like a shockwave.

_**I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU—**_

_**ENOUGH! We must use this opportunity… we must use the boy…**_

_**He is nothing but a tiny organism…**_

_**And now, so are we.**_

Marcus stared at the police officer with eyes that were unlike his own.

"_Fetch Colonel Sung-Si; bring him here and tell us about the Autobots,_" Marcus said in a voice unlike his own.

The police officer, his ears reverberating with ancient instructions, turned and walked away.

"Whoa," Stacy muttered, mouth agape, "How did you do that?"

And suddenly Marcus was back, his head slightly dizzy and his voice shaky.

"D-Do what?"

"Convince the guard to leave!"

"I-I did?"

Stacy looked at him askew.

"…You alright Marcus?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Marcus replied, staring back into her eyes, "Hey, does everything look suddenly brighter to you?"

Stacy frowned slightly, her blue eyes slightly worried. "Uh, no…"

"Because you have really beautiful eyes," Marcus mused, almost in a different world.

Stacy blushed and looked away, causing Ryder to chuckle.

"Young love birds perch on the same branch," he said, smiling dryly, "Oh, what a beautiful sight."

"Shut up," Stacy warned, "And anyway; I don't see you with a girl."

"Ah," Ryder muttered, suddenly drawing back in on himself, his eyes misty and faraway, picking at a guitar, "She was so beautiful, was she, that set my heart aflame—"

"Hang on," Stacy interrupted, staring at Ryder with incredulity, "Where did you get that?"

"Get what?"

"The guitar."

"I had it with me."

"You liar!"

Ryder shrugged. "You did not look for a guitar before, so you did not notice one."

"You know what? I think I'll turn crazy in here," Stacy cried, throwing her arms in the air in resignation, "Stuck between the strange, idiotic, sunglasses-wearing, guitar-playing asshole and the childhood friend who's stuck in another world."

"What's going on?" cried a voice coming down the corridor.

Marcus and Stacy pressed their heads against the bars, awaiting the new arrivals.

Colonel Sung-Si, two soldiers and the estranged police officer had arrived.

"What's going on here?" the colonel demanded, "How is it that you've drugged one of my officers? …And how is it he has a guitar?"

Ryder picked a couple more strings, letting their sound wash over him, before turning his full attention on the colonel.

"Ah, if it isn't Colonel Cockface and his retinue of mentally handicapped monkeys."

"Quiet!" Sung-Si yelled, "What drugs were you smuggling into this country? Tell me now!"

Ryder sighed. Putting the instrument down, he picked himself up and walked over to the bars.

"Alright, you got us," he admitted, "We're drug runners, carrying Class A stuff into the city."

"Then where is it?" Sung-Si asked, "My men did not find it during their initial search of yourselves…"

All of a sudden, Ryder reached through the bars and grabbed the colonel, pulling his head into the bars. Knocked out cold, Ryder took the knife from the officer's belt just as his men were aiming their weapons. The police officer just seemed slightly confused by the whole thing.

Ryder held the knife to Sung-Si's neck, watching the soldiers. They said nothing, training their sights on Ryder.

"I would think twice before trying to kill me," Ryder uttered, "The knife might slip."

Quickly realising that the soldiers didn't speak a word of English, Marcus helpfully made a cutthroat gesture to indicate the colonel's fatal predicament.

"Now," Ryder told them, while a stunned Stacy looked on, "Open up the cell."

Marcus pointed to the lock and made a turning gesture. The guards looked at each other and whispered.

Marcus, Stacy and Ryder watched them steadily, their lives on the line.

One of the guards frowned and walked slowly towards the cell, lowering his weapon while his buddy watched his back. He took the key from the colonel's belt, Ryder watching him closely, before he placed it in the lock and turned.

The door sprang open and the guard moved back. As Marcus and Stacy ran out and down the corridor, Ryder stayed behind with the colonel, who had started to wake.

"Ah, colonel," Ryder said, smiling with everything devoid of warmth, "You're the little bargaining chip in this impasse. So tell me; where's my rifle?"

"I-In my office," Sung-Si answered fearfully, "In the HQ across the street; t-the guards won't let you in t-though."

"Let me worry about the guards," Ryder told him, "Let's deal with you."

Ryder used his spare hand to reach into his old duster coat. The soldiers held their rifles like statues. The colonel waved them off.

Ryder pulled something small and black out of his coat.

"I knew this would come in handy someday," he muttered.

"What?" Sung-Si asked, terrified.

"Guess."

As the room was filled with a blinding light and ear-splitting sound, Ryder made good his escape.

* * *

><p>As Optimus and Kim discussed the Pillar situation on the front steps of the colossal palace, Mirage whispered to Sideswipe in their language.<p>

"Kim's a woman? Didn't expect that."

"Neither did I," Sideswipe admitted, "I never knew there was such a thing as female rulers."

"Excuse me," Arcee interrupted, "But how would you not know that?"

While Mirage shrunk back, mortified at having been overheard, Sideswipe smiled.

"Because I've never heard of one," he replied, "Either due to the fact that there has never been one or whatever female leaders existed on Cybertron were too unimportant or ineffective to warrant attention."

"After we're done here," Arcee snarled through gritted teeth, "I'm kicking your ass in the training room."

They were interrupted by Kim's passionate voice.

"So what you're saying," Kim said, her blonde hair blowing in the wind, her young face filled with vigour, "Is that you are supported by no government in this endeavour and only wish to reclaim your lost technology so that the Decepticons can't claim it from us?"

"Exactly," Optimus lied and hating himself while he did it.

"So where would you take it?" Kim asked, perceptive.

"I'm sorry but I can't reveal that kind of information; the Decepticons have spies everywhere and if our location was to be uncovered, we'd be at a heavy disadvantage."

Kim sighed. The Autobots looked down on the young woman, hoping for her consent.

"Alright then," she finally said, "We will deliver the Pillar to you, upon which we will escort you out of the country."

They looked at her, dumbfounded.

Optimus couldn't believe his luck. Neither could the rest of the Autobots.

They were going to get the Pillar!

After all the setbacks, the numerous defeats and the unforgivable body count, they were now going to achieve victory without bloodshed.

"But first," Kim said, "I must go prepare myself; I will be riding convoy with extra-terrestrial visitors!"

Kim and her advisors turned and walked back into the building.

The Autobots stood there, almost unwilling to believe this was happening.

"Uh, Optimus?" Sideswipe asked, "Are we going to win this one?"

"It seems," Optimus said, a smile appearing on his lips, "That with Marcus's help, we have stayed one step ahead of the Decepticons."

The Autobots almost whooped with joy at that.

"Finally," Chromia exclaimed with joy, "Our time has come; how about that Optimus?"

Optimus smiled at her, genuinely happy for the first time in a long while.

Then the whole square exploded.

* * *

><p>Just a couple of minutes beforehand, Ryder broke down the colonel's office front door.<p>

"You could have opened it," Stacy sighed, "And snuck past the last four guards instead of knocking them out."

"Where's the fun in opening anything," Ryder replied, "It's all about the prize."

As he said that, he saw ELLIPSIS upon the colonel's table. He walked over and picked it up.

"Isn't she a beauty?" he said, stroking the incredibly long barrel, "Well guys; take what you want from the cockface's office. A lot of this stuff looks expensive; you could sell it to the soldiers back at HARP for a few bucks."

Stacy frowned as Ryder and Marcus started pocketing soldier figurines and other assorted military junk. But, realising she was only going to be here once, Stacy decided to root through Sung-Si's desks.

"Let's see," she muttered, "Maps of Kushing… missile sites at Chongjin… ooh, Winegums!"

Ignoring the top secret military plans, Stacy brought out a half-finished pack of light confectionaries, much to Ryder's apprehension.

"Seriously?" he asked, "Out of all the stuff you could sell in here, all the stuff for your mantelpiece, you decide to pick Winegums?"

But just before Stacy could pop one in her mouth, the square exploded, rattling the room as if it were an earthquake.

* * *

><p>Chromia died immediately.<p>

Out of the ground came a huge hand, jet black and clawed. It grabbed her as she fell, the whole square erupting from the new figure's subterranean arrival. Grasping her in its hand, it squeezed with more pressure than the bottom of an ocean trench. Chromia almost exploded from the strength of the grip, her metal bones fracturing and splitting, her spine snapping. Her head came apart, energon leaking all over the creature's hand.

As Arcee wailed in pain and the other Autobots fell to the ground, the new arrival crawled out of the hole he had come from.

He stood up straight upon the square, towering over the cowering Autobots.

"Ah," muttered he with a voice darker than the void, "It has been so long since I've inflicted pain on another… and one as fragile as her."

"S-Shockwave!" Optimus gasped.

The indomitable Decepticon looked down at him.

"Yes, it is I Prime," the titanic Shockwave uttered, "And at last my moment of triumph shall be realised… with your death."

The black form of Shockwave blotted out the sun with his size, his red eye gleaming with a hunger… no, a _need_ for killing. His lumbering legs and clawed hand could crush houses with a swipe or blow, while his arm cannon could raze an entire skyscraper. There was not a more dangerous nor horrifying creature in the galaxy.

Arcee rolled over onto her back, her sister's death sending pulses of agony and despair through her. The synaptic link, the hive mind between them, had been shattered.

Sideswipe leapt at Shockwave, who simply slapped away the confident Autobot with his cannon. Sideswipe smashed into the palace, groaning as he fell several floors to the ground.

Mirage and Blazemaster were next, firing their weapons up at the Decepticon. Missiles and lasers smashed into Shockwave, disorientating him a little. He raised his arm cannon and fired a low-powered shot. It smashed into the ground between the two Autobots, sending them flying through the air; Mirage fell into the cracks caused by Shockwave's entrance while Blazemaster crashed through a house, which fell in on him like a pyramid of cards.

Optimus looked up, vengeance in his eyes.

"SHOCKWAVE!" he roared, drawing his swords and charging.

"Prime," uttered Shockwave, eye glowing with malice.

Optimus smashed into him, twirling and slicing with his blades. The swords slashed across Shockwave's chest, splitting the armour and pushing him back. But Shockwave did not seem to feel it, swinging a fist that would have levelled a battleship into Optimus's abdomen, sending him crashing to the ground, coughing up pieces of metal.

Shockwave observed the destruction he had caused, while a window in the palace opened.

Kim's face appeared, full of murderous glee.

"Lord Shockwave!" Kim cried in a voice that was certainly not human, "My master… you have defeated Optimus Prime, who I entrapped for you…"

"Your assistance was unnecessary, but appreciated," Shockwave uttered, "Exit the nest unless you wish for death."

Her skin peeling back, Kim the Pretender leapt from the window, her metal limbs and skeletal figure allowing her to land on Shockwave's shoulder.

"My master, fire!" she screeched.

"Cease your input, or face immediate termination," Shockwave intoned, "I know what needs to be done; are the leaders of this faction in there?"

"Yes master, I would not fail you!"

"Excellent," Shockwave uttered and trained the cannon on the palace, charging the shot to full power.

Optimus looked up at him just as he fired.

The shot smashed through walls as if they were made of tissue paper and detonated right in the centre.

The generals and officials were utterly obliterated, not even their ashes surviving the gigantic explosion. The building ceased to be; the walls and ceilings were wrapped in white-hot flame, the centuries-old palace turning to ash in a second; the flames exploded outwards, igniting the transformers.

Optimus Prime was on fire. The Autobots were sent flying by the shockwave and power of the explosion, arcing through the air into the surrounding streets. The wind curled and exploded outwards, igniting with the sheer power of the explosion, destroying houses and reducing homes and their occupants to rubble and dust. Kim held her claws into Shockwave's shoulder, her body hanging in the air from the explosion that threatened to send her miles away.

Shockwave stood immobile, the flames lapping his skin as if it were a light breeze.

* * *

><p>And in the PKA HQ, Marcus watched the fire from a mile away.<p>

The shockwave then hit him, throwing them all to the ground. He managed to pick himself up, to see the emblazed Shockwave.

The Decepticon was even darker than before, the ignited square dancing shadows across his dreaded form. Only his red eye stopped the illusion of unmatched darkness and evil, the eye feasting on the sight before it with ravenous hunger.

And then the eye turned on Marcus.

And despite being a mile away, he knew that Shockwave was looking at him.

"Such power…" Kim whispered, her optics filled with the beautiful blaze before her, something that was so attractive to her insane spark, "My master, no-one can stop you…"

Shockwave took no notice of her; instead, he stared at the boy in the distance.

There was something about him…

* * *

><p><em><strong>So that is Shockwave.<strong>_

_**He is the one.**_

_**The one we called upon so long ago, when these disgusting organisms found us.**_

_**He is still small, but at least he understands the beauty of life…**_

_**Ah yes, that is a trait worth admiring.**_

_**What now?**_

_**The boy will probably hide, while Shockwave dispatches with the Autobots.**_

…_**They will all die… yes…**_

_**But what of us?**_

_**We needn't worry; the boy will hide.**_

* * *

><p>Optimus cracked open an optic.<p>

He saw Shockwave wrapped in the flames, wearing them as if it were a cloak.

"Optimus, I will not destroy you, unless you wish to follow me; for this is neither the time nor the place. A death reserved for the one who slew me should happen at a significantly grander location, a place of majesty and of inevitability. Our fates are sealed; you will die by my hand, but not here. You may bring your Autobots if you wish, but they will die along with the humans… I will be waiting at the Parallel."

Shockwave turned blue.

And vanished.

* * *

><p>But they were wrong.<p>

Their power was old and influential, but it had grown senile over the eons.

Marcus did not hide.

He eyed the ancient spear that had fallen with the glass case when the shockwave had hit. He picked it out of its shattered cage and turned it over. It was surprisingly light.

Ryder and Stacy got up and looked out the window to see the fires in the distance.

"Oh my god…" Stacy whispered, "Was that the Autobots?"

"Shockwave," Marcus muttered, still staring at the spear in his hands, "He burned them."

"Optimus is dead?" Stacy squeled with worry.

"Of course not," Ryder sighed, picking up ELLIPSIS, "That tough old bastard could survive the third world war."

"We're going to help them," Marcus said firmly, gripping the spear tight.

Ryder and Stacy stared at him.

"Uh, Marcus?" Stacy asked, "Are you really alright? You seem to be getting more deranged by the second…"

"That said," Ryder interrupted, "It seems to be getting rid of your whiny persona."

"I've… been experiencing some headaches," Marcus admitted, turning to them,"Strange visions since I touched that sliver of the Allspark… some of transformers, some of humans and some of these creatures… dark and horrible and yet… they look like me. I have these blackout moments, like I'm in a dream… I do sound crazy, don't I?"

Ryder and Stacy nodded.

"Well," Ryder said, "At least I have entertaining company."

"Marcus, why haven't you told anyone?" Stacy asked urgently, "Why haven't you told Gerin or the general or Optimus?"

"They sort of know," Marcus muttered, "They're using some of the visions to find the Pillars… but we need to forget that now; we have to get to the Autobots! Are you guys ready?"

Ryder clutched ELLIPSIS. Stacy clutched the Winegums. They were ready.

Marcus held the spear upright; it was taller than him. But he didn't care. He was angry, angry at having watched the protectors of the Earth being beaten back. He had to help them.

"Let's go."

The stars shone bright overhead.

* * *

><p>Just as Starscream's brigade crossed into America, Shockwave appeared on the moon.<p>

He was greeted by a repulsive sight. Three Decepticons were waiting, none of whom Shockwave liked.

The hideous face of Flatline sprung out at him, his remaining eye cunning and containing the dark secrets of his work. Although he was the Decepticon's primary medic, his work wasn't limited to just that; he was also the maintainer of the Pillar system, which was of prime importance. Shockwave did not just dislike the medic for his appearance; the work that he did in the infirmary was utterly repulsive in its role and also responsible for the disgusting creature on Shockwave's shoulder.

Next in line was Sideways, a grunt who always hid in the shadow of those who were stronger than him. He had worked with the colossal Demolisher during the Fallen's return, going on a rampage of death and destruction; Demolisher had been the brawn while Sideways had been the brains. They had eventually been tracked down to Shanghai by NEST and they had been quickly dispatched. But while Demolisher's remains had been dumped in the Laurentian Abyss, Sideways had been part of the line of experiments at Hangar 18. And now, resurrected, the shrewd little Decepticon was keeping close to Soundwave, who was under Flatline's care.

The final Decepticon was Mixmaster, who was working the Pillar controls. He was one of the few surviving Constructicons; a gang of soldiers from Kaon who had discovered the ancient cybertronian secret of mass-transforming. But the days of Devastator were long done and so now he worked as one of the few Decepticon scientists; most especially, chemistry. He was the one who had created and perfected Sentinel Prime's demonic rust cannon, which had slain the Autobot veteran Ironhide. Mixmaster was now infamous for his use of his acid bombs and chem cannons, selling them to the other grunts so they could perform tricks and pranks on one another. Surprisingly, Shockwave couldn't see Deadlift, Mixmaster's lab rat and closest friend; the two were nigh inseparable, with Mixmaster only ever using his non-lethal experiments on Deadlift.

"Father!" Kim cried jubilantly, leaping from Shockwave's shoulder to fly through the low gravity and landing in Flatline's caring arms. She snuggled up like a new-born baby.

"Ah, my pretty," Flatline said, grinning, "How did you perform? A standing ovation no doubt."

"I fooled them all!" Kim cried, ecstatic at pleasing her maker, "Even the idiot Prime believed I was that woman!"

"And, for a job well done, you get to keep your name," Flatline said, "You are no longer a number."

The human-sized creature of twisted metal squeled with joy and snuggled closer to Flatline, much to Shockwave's irritation.

"Flatline it seems your experiments were _too _successful," he spat, "The Pretenders seem to have inherited the humans form of insanity and… affection."

Flatline grinned up at him. "Ah, but shouldn't an artist be appreciated for his work? Especially from the work itself?"

He tickled the little creature with a finger, causing her to giggle with joy.

Shockwave turned with disgust to Mixmaster.

"Mixmaster, you have the coordinates?"

"Yes boss," Mixmaster replied, "Locking on now."

A few seconds later a screen of blue light appeared behind Shockwave. He turned to Sideways.

"Sideways, I have an important job for you. I would normally give something like this to Astrotrain, but we are pressed for time and he is on another side of the Earth. Get in, retrieve the Pillar and leave no witnesses."

"Understood Commander Shockwave," Sideways replied, "Where do I go from there?"

"Head out of the faction, quickly I might add, for your alternate form would attract attention there; head for Russia or Tibet.

Sideways nodded once before walking into the screen of light. A few seconds later, Mixmaster confirmed his successful arrival in North Korea. Shockwave turned to him again.

"Set new coordinates; I'm uploading them now."

"Wh-What?" Mixmaster stuttered, "But I'm shutting up shop for the night; I need to conserve energy levels and get some naptime."

"You do not say what needs to be done; that is my directive," Shockwave corrected him with his terrifying tone of voice, "You will set those coordinates and then wait for me to send the password 'evangelical', at which point you will retrieve me from the planet below. Be warned; I might take a while."

Mixmaster grumbled something under his breath and began to punch in the new coordinates.

Flatline looked up. "What do you plan to do Shockwave? You only need the Pillar; Megatron will be happy with that."

"I assume he will, but I will not," Shockwave replied, "I do not care for the power this technology presents, nor do I care for the energon that can be retrieved from them. I live to kill and as there are not many Autobots left to dispense with, I must eliminate what I can. So in answer to your question Flatline, I will head back down to Earth and kill as many humans as I wish to."

Flatline whistled with something akin to awe, but Kim looked up with wondrous eyes.

"You're going back?" she asked.

Shockwave didn't answer. Mixmaster shouted "Done!" and the blue screen seemed to refresh itself, as if it had been gone over by a windscreen wiper.

"Oh, please Lord Shockwave, let me come with you!" Kim cried, "I wish to see you fashion destruction with your power, to see the world burn and the humans slaughtered!"

"Your presence would be a hindrance," Shockwave uttered, "I do not need interruptions while I work."

"I would not even think of impeding your unstoppable glory!" Kim exclaimed, almost begging, "I only wish to observe and bask in the shadows of the fires you conjure!"

Shockwave turned to look at the little figure in Flatline's hands, his eye gazing at her. He couldn't understand how one could be driven into such a frenzy at the mere mention of bloodshed. On the plus side, the disgusting little creature might not return from the trip.

"Fine then," he intoned, "But I will not be there for your safety; you will be on your own."

She squeled again and Shockwave almost shivered with displeasure. Such a spark served no other purpose than to be crushed.

Flatline looked worriedly at the thing in his hands. "Are you sure you wish for this little one? You may not return alive…"

Kim smiled up at him. "I will be fine father; with Lord Shockwave there, nothing wrong could befall me! He took out Optimus Prime with one shot!"

She leapt from his arms into the light.

Shockwave followed immediatley.

* * *

><p>"Optimus…"<p>

He heard a far-away voice.

"Optimus!"

The leader of the Autobots came out of his slumber, to find Marcus standing over him.

"Optimus! Are you alright?" he cried.

"M-Marcus?" he muttered, struggling to get his systems out of the stasis lock he had fallen into, "What are you doing here?"

"I wish I knew," Marcus replied, "It wasn't exactly my decision. Stacy and Ryder are here as well."

Optimus groaned as he got to his feet. He looked around, seeing the other Autobots rising as well.

The square was obliterated. Actually, obliterated was too weak a word. It had been pretty much been dissolved by Shockwave's shot, with nothing but rubble and ash littering the area. It looked like some vengeful god had flipped the square over, rolled it up, beaten it with a lead pipe and then thrown it to the ground in disgust. It was unrecognisable.

"But…" Optimus couldn't believe it, "How did this happen?"

A sudden wailing could be heard over the entire square. And it wasn't any fire crews.

Arcee knelt over the rubble, staring at the ground, her pitiful cry haunting the ears of her onlookers. She clutched her head with the pain and despair that wracked her body, unbelieving of what had happened.

Blazemaster moved closer. "Arcee, I'm sorry…"

"GET AWAY!" she screamed, looking up at him. He retreated back as she looked up at Optimus, her face a mask of horror and hate.

"He's done it again Optimus," she spat, "He's killed them both; Elita and Chromia…. and what do we have to show for it? NOTHING BUT FUCKING CORPSES!"

The Autobots heard her outburst and bowed their heads.

"What have we won?" she asked rhetorically, looking at Optimus with spite, "Hmm? Where are the Pillars? Where are the congratulations? Where is our victory? I'll tell you where they are… they come in the form of insect ambulances!"

"Arcee," Optimus said firmly, "We will get him; we have killed him before and we will kill him again. I promise you this—"

"BULLSHIT!" she roared, "We won't get him! We will never get him! This war will drag on for eternity or until we lose! We will never win… we will just lose friends until the Decepticons have this planet in their clutches and our heads on their walls…

"What is the point? What is the point in running through all this bullshit…? We just turn up, round after round, just to be defeated and lose more soldiers… and for what? We can't beat them… so we might as well leave this planet and never look back…"

There was deathly silence after that. Optimus frowned.

"Arcee, the loss of your sister affects us all, but casualties are certain in war," he told her firmly, "And in the end… it isn't about winning."

Arcee looked up at him, her spite replaced by depressed confusion.

"This war is our curse… it has been placed upon us for our arrogance and folly. We became too greedy, too ignorant to see the rising storm. And now, through even more ignorant means, we have placed this curse over the human race as well. For that, we must atone for what we have done: It does not matter if we win or not, only that we fight against the Decepticons and attempt to save as many lives as possible. If we leave, then the Decepticons will simply follow us; they have nothing in their sparks except vengeance. In the end, we must beat the Decepticons, or die trying."

Arcee shook her head. "Optimus, we no longer care for that; we only wish to survive. Your plan of action will just kill us all and no-one would ever care… we only want to see the other side of this."

"That is why we must fight, Arcee!" Optimus exclaimed, picking her up, "No sacrifice, no victory! We have beaten these Decepticons before, killed them before and we will do it all over again until there is not one left! So get on your feet soldier and let's find Shockwave!"

"I-I…" Arcee sobbed, "I have no-one left…"

"You have us!" Sideswipe cried, "All of us! Everyone is behind you, 100%, and we will be until the sun lights its final spark! We are the Autobots and we'll be together no matter what! Don't ever forget that!"

They all roared their support, even Marcus and Stacy, as Arcee got to her feet.

"Where is he?" she asked coldly.

"I've got a good idea," Optimus growled, "He invited us to join him in a fair fight, at a place much more 'majestic' than this. He said to meet us at the Parallel."

"The Parallel?" Mirage questioned.

"He must have meant the 38th Parallel!" Blazemaster cried, "The border between North and South Korea; it's a massive military no-man's land, filled with minefields and bunkers. If Shockwave wanted a war, he'd go there."

"But why would he do that?" Sideswipe asked, "What about the Pillar?"

Optimus looked at the ashes of the palace. "This country's government is dead… by the Matrix, he wants them all to come!"

"Wait," Stacy said, "What's going on?"

"If Shockwave attacks the 38th Parallel, both North Korea and South Korea will send forces there; both countries have been at each other's throats since they were created. With the North Korean army having heard of their government's assassination they would immediately suspect their southern neighbour. And of course, when the 38th Parallel comes under attack…"

"North Korea would strike back!" Marcus roared with revelation, "And there would be war all over Korea!"

"But I still don't get it," Stacy said, "Why would Shockwave do that? How does it help the Decepticons?"

"It's probably just a distraction so that they can get their hands on the Pillar," Mirage muttered, "Dead humans mean nothing to them…"

"Possibly, but I think that's only a small part of it," Optimus replied, "Shockwave lives for killing; and when this war converges on the border, he'll be right in the thick of it."

"My god…" Stacy whispered, "The humans wouldn't stand a chance…"

"We must get there, as quickly as possible," Optimus said, "Communications are still out, so we'd better move now; we can reach their in an hour at full speed."

"But Optimus!" Mirage called, "What of the Pillar? We could intercept the Decepticons before they get it!"

Arcee turned to coldly stare at him, her eyes ablaze.

"Never mind," Mirage muttered, "To the 38th Parallel!"

"But Optimus," Stacy cried, "What about us?"

Optimus shifted uncomfortably. "We'd better take you with us and we'll decide what to do with you on the way. But I won't let you get near the battle; I promise you that."

The three children nodded.

"Sideswipe, take Ryder. Blazemaster, take Marcus and Stacy. Now, Autobots…"

He raised his arm and pointed south.

"Transform and roll out!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, several miles to the north, Sideways stepped gingerly over the messy remains of the North Korean guards.<p>

There was only one left and it was struggling in Sideways' grasp, screaming his lungs out. He ignored him.

Sideways was a thinker, he knew that. He was cold, but not as cold as Shockwave. He was cunning, but not as cunning as Soundwave. He was a good fighter, but not as good a fighter as Starscream. And he was ruthless, but not as ruthless as Megatron.

He was a perfect soldier, but even he had his fancies. And that included the Korean guard.

He crushed the last scientist underfoot and picked up the Pillar. He wrapped it in the tarpaulin that covered it at night and transformed into his alternate form of the Audi R8. The guard was sat in the passenger seat while the Pillar was placed on top.

"What do you want with me?" the guard screeched.

"Shut up!" Sideways shouted, "Or I'll tear your lungs out!"

The guard kept quiet.

"Now, you should feel honoured," Sideways said, "Out of every human mook here, I decided to spare you for the trip of a lifetime; instead of working at your boring, underpaid job, we're going on a road trip to Tibet!"

The guard let that sink in.

"Why?"

"Two reasons; one, it's my orders and two, the roads there are long and have lovely views; perfect for this alternate mode."

"But why am I coming?"

"Thing is, travel is boring as fuck," Sideways replied, "So I need someone to talk to on the way; I figure learning about you insects is more interesting than listening to a maniacal medic and my narcissistic boss."

"…And what happens to me when we arrive there?"

"I let you go," Sideways lied, "From there you can figure your own way home. But if you refuse to converse with me during the trip, I'll throw you off a mountain."

The guard swallowed nervously.

"Fine then," he muttered.

"I thought you would agree to my most generous proposition," Sideways chuckled, "Now strap in tight; speed limits were made to be broken!"

The Audi roared into the breaking dawn, carrying both another Decepticon victory and a very frightened passenger.

* * *

><p>Shockwave crushed a bunker underfoot, before igniting a minefield further away. The ground seemed to throw itself into the air, clumps of dirt and mud exploding skyward. He then blew apart another bunker, this time on the south side.<p>

Kim yipped wildly, annoying the titan.

"Get off," he ordered. Kim complied and landed on the ruins of the bunker.

"My master!" she cried like an excited child, "No human war can compare to the level of death and demolition that you will have wrought today!"

Shockwave ignored her and trampled an empty tank. A helicopter appeared on the south side, training its weapons on Shockwave. He blew it out of the sky. It dropped, the blazing fireball smashing into the ground below.

Kim cried with bloodthirsty reverence, dancing on the graves of soldiers.

* * *

><p>A big rig truck, two sports cars, a motorcycle and a Hind attack helicopter travelled down the motorway at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour. Impossible by any normal vehicle, these were not normal vehicles.<p>

"Uh, Blazemaster?" Stacy asked, scared out of her wits at the speed he was going at, "We won't crash, will we?"

Over the noise of the engine and the velocity, Stacy thought she heard him chuckle. "Don't worry," he told her, "I won't let you come to harm."

"What about me?" Marcus cried, clutching the spear as if it were the brake handle.

"You got a parachute?" asked Blazemaster.

Marcus let out a small whine.

But in the Chevrolet, Ryder was having the time of his life.

"Can't you go any faster?" Ryder asked.

"Of course," Sideswipe boasted, "I just don't want to leave the others behind."

"And that's a problem how?"

Underneath the hood, Sideswipe grinned.

"I like how you think kid," he said, gaining speed.

"Sideswipe," Optimus warned, "Some of us can't keep up with you, but if you want to face Shockwave alone, go right ahead."

Sideswipe laughed, but did slow down.

"Now then," Optimus said, "This is the plan; we'll drop the kids off a few miles from 38th Parallel, before splitting up and flanking Shockwave."

"But how do we know which point of the border Shockwave's at?" Mirage asked.

"I've hacked into the KPA network; I know where he is. The body count is rising."

"Then we best get there," Blazemaster said, "Fast."

They sped down the motorway, gaining speed as they did so.

"Optimus?" Arcee asked on a private channel.

"Arcee? Are you doing alright?"

"That's twice you know," she said, sorrow in her voice, "That's twice he's killed her. When we all left Cybertron, all those meta-cycles ago, she and Elita stayed behind… and they didn't make it."

Optimus said nothing.

"…I don't think we'll kill him today. In actual fact, I doubt we'll survive at all. The only reason you managed to kill him before is because every Autobot and human in NEST was gunning for him and you had those upgrades that Jetfire gave you… all we have are five injured Autobots and three annoying kids."

"If we die Arcee," Optimus replied, "Then I'll be glad to know we went out attempting to avenge your sisters."

"…Thank you… but I think the best revenge against someone like Shockwave is to simply… live."

* * *

><p>They dropped the kids five miles from the Parallel, deep within a forest. They could hear the explosions in the distance.<p>

"Now listen children," Optimus said to them, "If we don't come back after an hour or two I want you to activate this."

He gave them a small black cylinder, with a few buttons on it. He pointed to the red one.

"Push that and the people at HARP will lock onto it and teleport you out of here," he told them, "But remember; wait for us first."

As the Autobots revved up to face what could be their final fight, Stacy called out.

"Be careful!" she cried.

The Autobots raced off, carving their way through the forest towards the looming battle.

"'Be careful?'" Ryder reiterated, "Christ girl, what do you think they're going to do? Walk in and let Shockwave shoot them? Cartwheel into a minefield?"

"You know, you could be more supportive," Stacy hissed, "Instead of standing around and thinking you look cool."

"I've got a gun as big as you; that doesn't make me cool, just awesome."

"Stop whining like a married couple," Marcus scolded them, "And let's go!"

"W-What?" Stacy asked, puzzled, "We were told to stay here!"

"Did you see what happened to Optimus the last time he squared off against that guy?" Marcus asked, "They can't win without our help!"

"B-But that makes no sense!" Stacy cried out, incredulous, "What can we do?"

"Well, I have ELLIPSIS," Ryder said, "And it apparently kicks like a bitch; and Marcus has his spear, which will no doubt prove useful."

"You guys are insane!" Stacy exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Yeah, I'm actually quite shocked," Ryder admitted, "That I wasn't the one who decided to go first."

"We're wasting time," Marcus muttered, "We need to help—"

He gripped his head suddenly, a flash of pain searing through it.

_**How is this not going as we predicted? The boy would hide…**_

_**Hmm… could it be because of our interference…?**_

But, unlike usual, Marcus finally heard them.

_Something's not right… what the fuck is this?_

_**He heard us?**_

_**Impossible…**_

_Who are you people? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HEAD?_

_**We must regain control, quickly…**_

A splitting headache tore his brain asunder and he fell to his knees.

"MARCUS!" Stacy cried, far-away…

_**We must assume direct control—**_

_GET OUT!_

_**He is fighting back… we underestimated him…**_

_GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_

_**We will not be able to hold him…**_

_**We must…**_

_**Don't be so foolish! We must erase his mind of this… then fall back…**_

_**How humiliating… to be bested by an organism…**_

_**We will not be bested as long as no-one knows of our existence… the child included…**_

_WHAT ARE YOU?_

_**His mind is strong… uh… we have lost so much…**_

_**And what is more, our meddling and growth has changed his personality into something more… reckless…**_

_**Then it is decided… deceit and retreat…**_

And suddenly the headache, and any memories of the voices, were gone from Marcus's mind.

And he found himself more determined than ever.

"What's going on Marcus?" Stacy asked, firm, "You need some rest; you're acting like a loony case."

Marcus smiled at her. "Maybe I am… but why say anything if you're going to say something bad? Come on, let's go hunt some Decepticon."

And then he ran into the brush.

Stacy gaped after him while Ryder shrugged.

"Every man's got his breaking point," he said, "Let's find his."

He followed Marcus into the forest.

Stacy, not wanting to be on her own, clutched her Winegums close and ran after them.

* * *

><p>"SHOCKWAVE!"<p>

The demonic demon turned towards the one who had called him. He cast his unforgiving gaze upon the treeline and saw him standing there.

Optimus, with the rising sun reflecting of his armour, stared down at Shockwave, a two-handed battle axe firmly in his grip. His eyes were glazed with steel, his face a mask of cold, focused, hate.

"Optimus," Shockwave intoned, "What a waste…"

He stood in the midst of a valley filled with death; tanks and helicopters laid strewn about like broken toys, bunkers smashed like fine china, the ground torn up from triggered mines.

And bodies. Bodies everywhere.

"You have taken away innocent lives, Shockwave," Optimus growled, "Uncountable in their number… and now you will pay."

"Optimus, you may dispense with the pleasantries; I have heard too many speeches of the righteous and kind-hearted, who believe they will win because they are 'good'. Do you know what they all had in common?"

Optimus's face looked enraged. Shockwave spoke with the utmost malice.

"None of them survived."

Blazemaster dropped from above, screaming with rage as he came down like a bomb, his rotor weapons spinning, missiles screeching downwards.

Shockwave aimed his weapon up and fired a single shot. The sky exploded.

Sideswipe and Mirage charged from the sides, their blades slashing through the air towards their target. As Shockwave lowered his cannon, they leapt up and attempted to stab his head.

Shockwave turned, faster than anyone could have expected the lumbering Decepticon to do, whacking Mirage out of the air with his cannon and letting Sideswipe's blade glance off his head. As Mirage crashed into a ruined bunker, Sideswipe turned in mid-air, attempting to swing his other arm around to decapitate Shockwave.

That was a bad mistake.

Shockwave grabbed Sideswipe with his free hand and began to crush. The Autobot screamed with pain.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Arcee flew like an eagle, her blade stabbing into Shockwave's neck. Annoyed, the Decepticon dropped the crumpled Sideswipe and tried to grab hold of the clinging Arcee, who held on thanks to the hooks in her sabre.

"THIS IS FOR MY SISTERS!" she screamed, using her free hand to fire lasers into Shockwave's head. The scalp was slowly torn away, the armour burning and flaking.

More infuriated than harmed, Shockwave tried to shake her off, to no avail.

And then something grabbed Arcee and tore her off Shockwave.

Kim the Pretender had climbed up her master and was now falling with the small Autobot fighter. They smashed into the ground, sending bits of torn up soldiers flying.

"BITCH!" Kim roared, launching herself at Arcee, knocking her down. Using her clawed hands, she tore at the Autobot, laughing maniacally as she did it.

Shockwave turned, just as Optimus brought down the huge axe. Shockwave managed to slap it away, but not before it tore a bit off his shoulder. Roaring, he kicked Optimus, sending him sprawling backwards.

"Optimus, you fool," Shockwave taunted, his voice staying in his malevolent monotone, "You could have set another time, another place, and brought your pets with you; without the humans, your power is wasted."

Optimus roared and swung the axe again, which Shockwave easily dodged.

"Justify yourself Optimus; why kill me?" Shockwave asked.

Optimus panted hard, the spark in his chest pumping energy through him. "You've… killed so many…"

"Ah, so a life for a life, is that it?" Shockwave asked, "You know, many insect factions, the most civilised ones, frown upon that."

"I am… not a human," Optimus told him, "I am an Autobot; and you need to die."

"If you do not compare yourself to the humans, then why do you care about the bodies at your feet?"

"Every creature deserves a chance to live!" Optimus cried, "It is what they do with their life, that warrants their death!"

"Then why did you throw the Allspark into space?"

Optimus stopped then and stared at Shockwave, a peculiar look on his face.

"What did you say?" he snarled.

"The only reason we are here Optimus, surrounded by human corpses, is because of your choice to throw the Allspark away, dooming both us and the humans to destruction at my hands."

"It was the right choice!" Optimus cried.

"Optimus, you are no longer a child… so why do you constantly make selfish decisions?"

Optimus roared and charged again, swinging his axe downwards.

Shockwave replied by blowing a hole in him and sending him flying further down the Parallel.

As he spat out lubricant, Shockwave drew nearer, cooling down his weapon for the final shot.

* * *

><p>Arcee screamed with pain and rage as Kim tore her skin apart.<p>

"I WANT TO WATCH YOU BLEED!" she screamed with jubilation, tearing Arcee apart with ravenous rejoicing.

"Oi!" cried a voice, "Get off her you slag!"

Kim turned, Arcee's energon leaking from her mouth, hunger in her eyes.

The trio of kids stood on a rise, looking down on them.

Arcee tried to shout at them, to tell them to run. But her voice was gone and her jaw was hanging limp from her mouth.

"Little children," Kim hissed, "How I despise little children."

"Now listen, lady," Marcus said, trying to be civil with the mass-murdering maniac, "We're giving you one chance to surrender; if you don't, my friend Ryder will—"

Kim roared with bestial fury, her mouth unhinging, showing a vast array of teeth of all shapes and sizes.

The kids suddenly felt a lot less sure of themselves.

"Uh, Ryder?" Marcus said shakily, "Please shoot her."

Ryder swung ELLIPSIS from his back into his hands and aimed the incredibly long gun at Kim.

The Pretender charged straight at him.

"Let's see what this baby can do," he said, and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"Oh," Ryder muttered, "Maybe I should have remembered to put ammo in it."

Kim slammed into him, sending him sprawling to the ground, his head smacking into a rock with a _thud_.

He looked up with mild confusion before falling unconscious.

Kim turned on the two remaining kids.

"Oh shit," Stacy muttered just as Arcee fell into stasis lock.

Kim leapt at them, with Marcus pulling Stacy out of the way just in time. They fell into a mud-filled trench, bodies strewn about in the dirt. Kim leapt in after them.

"RUN!" Marcus cried and led Stacy through the trench.

"Oh, don't run," Kim called, grinning, "Come on outside and play… if you dare!"

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Starscream's brigade crossed into Nevada.

* * *

><p>Optimus tackled Shockwave, forcing them both into the mud and grime. Not a flash of red or blue remained on Optimus for it had been burnt off, blown off or covered in muck.<p>

Shockwave grabbed Optimus's head in his hand and slammed it into a wrecked tank, causing one of Optimus's optics to pop out. In response, Optimus slammed a fist into Shockwave's face, splitting the armour. They rolled about, each trying to get one up over the other.

Overhead, South Korean F-15s flew above them, preparing for a bombing run.

"Are you a warrior Optimus?" Shockwave uttered, backhanding him, "A leader? A king? Or are you a coward, too frightened to admit he is responsible for the dead he lies upon?"

"Their blood is on your hands!" Optimus roared, leaping out of the mud and stomping on the prone Decepticon. He came down with huge hammer-blows, each one hard enough to sink a battleship, smashing them into Shockwave's chest.

"Let us see if these humans can tell the difference," Shockwave spat, looking to the sky beyond Optimus.

Optimus turned his head to see the Korean planes coming down low. Missiles streamed from them.

Then they were both wrapped in fire, the explosions throwing them into the air.

They came down, on fire and torn up, smashing into the ground with an earth-shattering crash.

* * *

><p>Marcus slipped in the mud but got up as quick as he came down, fear and desperation propelling him. Tears ran down Stacy's face as Kim's manic laughter could be heard gaining with them.<p>

_What have I done? _Marcus screamed in his head, _Why did I come out here? I've doomed us all, I've killed us—!_

He fell over in the mud again, this time sliding into the trench wall, the spear flying from his hand. Stacy fell with him, gasping with fright as she hit the wall.

Kim rounded a corner and trained her bloodthirsty eyes on the both of them. She slowly stalked towards them, enjoying every moment of their insurmountable terror.

But as much as the children tried to get up, they miserably slipped in the blood and mud to fall into the grime again. Stacy screamed with the pure horror of their predicament and Kim ran full pelt towards them.

"LITTLE CHILDREN!" she screeched, "RUN LITTLE PIGGIES, RUN!"

Marcus sat up against the wall, Stacy's head buried in his shoulder. Kim was only a few metres away.

_Is this how I'm going to die? Oh God, save me…_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the mud-soaked spear.

Kim leapt at them, screaming with pure ecstasy for the kill.

Marcus grabbed the spear and raised it. He closed his eyes.

The mud slid off the blade and it gleamed in the dawn's light.

Kim saw it all too late.

With a sickening crunch and squelch, the spear juddered in Marcus's hands.

Finding himself still alive, he opened his eyes. Stacy looked up from his shoulder.

The spear's blade had impaled itself right through Kim's head, through her mouth and out her skull. The blade had found a soft slither of metal and, coated with Arcee's devoured energon, had penetrated Kim's head, instantly killing her. Marcus let the weapon drop and her limp body fell to the ground, splashing more mud on the terrified children.

"Well," came a voice, "That's one bitch I won't miss."

Marcus and Stacy looked up to see Ryder holding ELLIPSIS across his shoulders, smiling down at them.

Marcus looked up incredulously.

"Where the fuck were you?" he half-gasped, half-roared.

"Taking a reluctant nap," Ryder answered and stooped down onto his knees. He reached out his hand. "Come on, let me pull you up."

First Marcus (with his trusty alien-killing spear) was pulled up and then the shell-shocked Stacy. They all looked at each other, Ryder with a smile, Marcus with amazement and Stacy with fear.

They all looked down into the trench. Kim's mud-splattered corpse was face-down in the dirt.

"What now?" Ryder asked, "Because I can assume Shockwave's going to be a bit tougher than her."

He pointed down the Parallel. In the distance, two titans battled, as jets bombed them from overhead.

"I just wanna go home," Stacy whined, "Let's just wait back—"

They saw Optimus fall, his right arm completely torn off.

"Oh crap," Marcus muttered.

"Ah, now that changes things," Ryder said, "Optimus's won't survive without our help, and it looks like every Autobot is down for the count. So what's it gonna be Marcus? You gonna take a ticket for the ride?"

Marcus looked back down into the trench. He had barely survived an encounter with a Decepticon his size and now he was being offered to fight one the size of a tower.

_What do I do? Optimus isn't going to survive; I can see that much… but what can I do? I'm just a kid who got lucky with that smaller one… how can I hope to stand up to someone like Shockwave? I'd just die, just like these soldiers… I want to have a life, to see tomorrow…_

But then he looked at the prone form of Optimus, so far away, as Shockwave inched closer.

_Without Optimus, there can be no tomorrow for the human race… for me… for us…_

_You know what? Screw it!_

"Ryder," Marcus muttered, "Give me covering fire."

"Wait—what?" Stacy stuttered.

"HUZZAH!" Marcus roared and jumped the trench, the spear held high, roaring a battle-cry.

Ryder laughed for the first time in a long while. "Would you look at that…? Come on Stacy, let's gut that ugly bastard."

He jumped the trench as well and chased after Marcus.

Stacy, yet again not wanting to be alone with the Decepticon corpse, reluctantly followed suit.

* * *

><p>"What were you trying to prove?" Shockwave asked, "What was the point, Optimus? No matter what you did, you were never going to beat me…"<p>

Optimus looked through defeated eyes to see Shockwave triumphantly standing over him, the cannon aimed straight at his face. He shut off his optics.

"Not facing your death Optimus? I expected more…"

Optimus angrily flared them open, to see a rock smack off the side of Shockwave's head.

He grunted and without looking away, said, "Whoever you are; don't interfere."

Another rock bounced off his head.

"It seems as though your suffering must be prolonged, Prime," Shockwave uttered, "While I deal with the remnant humans."

He turned to face what would obviously be soldiers.

He saw someone else entirely.

A small boy threw another rock, this one bouncing of Shockwave's injured neck. The Decepticon frowned and turned away.

"Immaterial," he muttered.

* * *

><p>"Wait, what?" Marcus questioned, "Did he just ignore me?"<p>

"Seems so," Ryder responded from his position in the nearby mud, "You better think of another trick to distract him, or Optimus is toast."

Marcus gulped. But he knew what he had to do.

"Hey, Ryder… can I borrow those shades?"

"…Why?"

"It would make me look more badass."

Ryder threw him the sunglasses and Marcus put them on, hefting the spear onto his shoulder.

"Alright then," he whispered, "Let's do this."

He started to walk towards Shockwave.

The Decepticon aimed the cannon at Optimus's face, delivering another droning oration.

Marcus gulped one last time, before crying out:

"Hey, hey, hey, HEY!"

Shockwave stopped.

"GET OFF HIM!" Marcus yelled, "YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME FIRST!"

Shockwave turned his head, unbelieving that he was being challenged by a thirteen year-old boy.

"Haven't you heard the news?" Marcus called up to him, walking towards him through the gore and mud, "There's a new kid on the block and he doesn't like Decepticons. So Shockwave… I heard you were a Decepticon…"

"Your attempt to distract me from the final kill is admirable but ultimately foolish," Shockwave told him, "If you decide to persist with this pathetic joke, you will not live to see tomorrow."

He turned back to Optimus, powering up the cannon.

"Tomorrow…" Marcus muttered with a smile, "Now you see that's funny… because I don't think there's a tomorrow without Optimus and his Autobots. Ryder, give him one to that cannon of his."

A black slug travelled through the air and smacked into Shockwave's cannon, gripping like glue and sending such an unexpected shock that Shockwave almost toppled over. He turned on Marcus angrily.

"Child, tell me how to remove this or I will flay you alive."

"Oh, so now you're paying attention to me? Good," Marcus said with a triumphant smile, "Now here are my demands; retreat now, or die."

Shockwave angrily started to pace towards him.

"Child, you have made a grave error."

"You only thing 'grave' about all this," Marcus told him, "Is the one you'll be lying in before the end of today."

And out of the corner of his eye, Marcus saw a sign. A sign that sent a little ray of hope into his heart.

"You don't seem like the type who plays games," Marcus called, "But have you heard of one called blackjack? You've got to risk it, to beat the dealer… and that risk comes in one form."

Shockwave stood over him and Marcus couldn't strain his neck high enough to see the Decepticon's face.

"So hit me!" Marcus challenged, "HIT ME! LET'S SEE IF YOU'RE MAN ENOUGH TO KILL ME!"

As Shockwave raised his foot for the final blow, Optimus saw Marcus through his mud-soaked optics. He tried to tell Marcus to run, to get out of there. But no sound came out.

He fell into stasis lock.

Shockwave brought the foot down.

Marcus smiled up at him as it fell.

And then Shockwave was struck, as if by a hammer, another black blob appearing on his chest. He fell back, grunting with pain. Power equivalent to two thousand electric chairs ran through him.

Ryder reloaded. He pushed the huge barrel down, revealing the hollow inside. He placed another black pellet inside ELLIPSIS and took aim again.

Shockwave let out a thunderous snarl and trained the cannon on them, powering up for an obliterating shot.

"COME ON!" Marcus roared, "HIT ME!"

Ryder fired again, a split-second before Shockwave did.

The black blob attached itself to the barrel's end of Shockwave's cannon, covering the exit hole, right before Shockwave fired.

An explosion rocked the world, conjuring up a light brighter than a thousand suns, that would have blinded Marcus had the shades not been over his eyes. Ryder, with lightning-quick reactions, had buried his face in the mud. He and Stacy were blown back a quarter of a mile, slamming into the mud and guts that stretched across the ruined border.

But Marcus immovable, letting the shockwave wash over him, holding the spear like a member of the naginata. He smiled, knowing he was fortunate to have survived.

Shockwave was nowhere near as lucky.

The plasma-charged railgun shot had impacted upon the electromagnetic blob and detonated, immediately obliterating Shockwave's right arm and sending him spiralling through the air. His huge optic was also short-circuited by the blinding light, his automatic filters unable to deal with the consummate illumination.

But worse was to come.

Torn from the ground, Shockwave landed in the signed-off area Marcus had seen.

A minefield.

And just as Marcus got up, Shockwave landed right in the middle of it.

Unlike when Shockwave had appeared from beneath the square, the ground didn't heave upwards; it exploded everywhere. Shockwave was torn apart by the detonations of a chain reaction, each mine detonating three others. Armour was blown off in chunks and his entire body was set alight, like a dying wicker man. The explosions continued for a whole minute and Shockwave felt every single one.

When they eventually stopped, he was unrecognisable.

The thirteen year-old spear wielder smiled.

_Marcus Twist—Decepticon killer... with some help._

But the smile was quickly erased from his face.

Of course, if Optimus or Megatron had endured what Shockwave had, neither of them would have survived. In fact, there might not have been any of them left. But Shockwave was something else.

Damaged beyond orating any speech, Shockwave did not even grunt as he started to get to his feet. Indeed, the only sound that came from his torn and twisted body was a low, guttural moan, like that of a ship sinking. It was an inhuman and terrifying sound.

But Marcus was unmoved. Something had changed inside of him, something new and hungry. He realised with a shock that he didn't care anymore; he just wanted to see Shockwave dead.

"Take this as a lesson from Marcus Twist," he uttered, pushing his sunglasses up, "Don't. Fuck. With. HARP!"

And with that, he flung the spear with all his might, sending it sailing through the air towards the blinded Shockwave. It bounced harmlessly off his head, before falling on the only mine that had not yet been triggered.

Mud and dirt heaved upwards, splashing Shockwave in the face as a final humiliating gesture.

The spear, blown away by the mine, landed hilt first in the mud beside Marcus.

Blinded, half-dead and splattered with mud, Shockwave managed to utter only one word.

"Evangelical…"

And, with a flash of blue light, he was gone.

* * *

><p>Stacy and Ryder appeared over the top of the ridge and saw him standing beside the spear.<p>

He was changed. _Some thing_ had changed him. And he was never looking back.

He turned towards them both, a slight smile on his lips.

Ryder grinned and ran towards him, Stacy following.

"What do you think?" Marcus asked, "The most epic thing you've ever seen?"

"Well," Ryder said, high-fiving the younger kid, "It wasn't exactly a Giga Drill Break."

"Whatever," Marcus laughed, before turning towards Stacy.

Her expression was unreadable. Marcus dropped the grin from his face.

All of a sudden, she hugged him close, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't ever do that again," she sobbed.

"Uh, okay…" Marcus muttered, stunned.

Ryder smiled and looked to the sky.

"I wonder what they'll think when that piece of scrap arrives on the moon," he mused, "And I wonder how hard they'll laugh when they hear who did it."

And just as Optimus awoke, more jets thundered across the sky.

The battle was over.

* * *

><p>Was he awake?<p>

Was he dead?

He couldn't see. He couldn't feel. He couldn't speak.

But he could hear.

"Well now, it seems you've come out of stasis lock. I have to admit, that was extraordinarily fast."

Flatline. The one voice Shockwave didn't want to hear when he was immobilised.

"Will he survive?" asked another.

Soundwave. Now that was someone Shockwave could rely on. Of course, Shockwave didn't trust him an inch, but at least he wasn't completely insane.

"Hard to tell at the moment," Flatline replied, "He has suffered the most catastrophic injuries I've ever seen; if it was anyone else, he would join my catalogue of skeletons in the closet. The literal ones."

Shockwave shivered slightly. Not with fear, but with the sensation of not knowing what would happen to him under Flatline's care. It was… unnerving.

"What about me?" Soundwave asked.

"Take a walk around the _Ark_; once you're done, come back here and I'll give you a check-up."

Shockwave almost wished that Soundwave wouldn't leave. Because he knew what Flatline had in store for him.

"Now, Shockwave," Flatline snarled with menace, "Where is she? No. 34? Kim?"

Shockwave couldn't answer. And even if he had been able too, he wouldn't have said anything anyway.

"Oh, I see," Flatline said savagely, "She is no longer among the living… how unfortunate. For both her… and you."

Shockwave kept the thought of what he'd do to Optimus Prime firmly in his head.

"Because if she had survived," Flatline continued, "Then this surgery might not have been quite as… painful."

On the moon, far away from where any human ears could listen in, the sounds of a tortured monster drifted across the void.

* * *

><p>"Alright Optimus," Ratchet said, "You'll be back here in minutes."<p>

"And when he does, goddamnit," Mason exploded, "HE'S GONNA ANSWER TO ME!"

"But general," Bumblebee said angrily, "He helped beat Shockwave and saved thousands of lives!"

"COMMUNISTS!" Mason roared, "HE SAVED A BUNCH OF SLANT-EYED REDS, FAILED TO GET THE PILLAR AND ALMOST BROUGHT US INTO WORLD WAR THREE!"

"You know what," Bumblebee sighed, "I'm not even going to argue with such a loud-mouthed, wide-bellied, son-of-a—"

A rumbling sounded throughout the base. It had come from the surface.

"What was that?" Ratchet asked. No-one had the answer.

Another rumble, this one larger, rolled through the underground bunker.

"Hey guys," Fearswoop cackled, "Wanna hear a joke?"

"Screw you," Bumblebee muttered.

Fearswoop grinned. "Knock knock."

Another rumble flickered the lights.

"Knock knock."

"Someone investigate that!" Mason shouted.

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?" Bumblebee muttered through gritted teeth.

As the funiculars on the surface exploded, Fearswoop smiled again.

"Why don't you go and find out?"

* * *

><p>RIP Flossy<p> 


	9. Ride the Lightning Part 1

Right, I probably won't be doing a chapter as long as 8 ever again; that took a lot out of me. So now we're back to normal sized chapters, along with the first mid-season two parter 'Ride the Lightning'.

Once again, thank you **Answerthecall **for your review!

Please read and review!

* * *

><p>"Ratchet," Optimus spoke through the communicator, "It seems that Shockwave had the jamming device on him; now that he is gone, the airwaves are free."<p>

"_It seems so,"_ came Ratchet's voice from the other end of the world, _"__What happened over there?"_

"Before I explain anything, we'll need an evac out of here, immediately," Optimus replied, "Before we get shot at by the locals. Make sure to teleport the kids out first."

"_Roger that… will you be debriefing us when you get back?"_

"It's been a long day," Optimus sighed, "We're going to need a lot of medical attention when we do arrive; I'm carrying my own arm and Sideswipe's in critical condition."

"_Roger that; we have you locked on. So you want the kids out first?"_

"Yes. They… they were heroes today."

"_Alright Optimus; you'll be back here in minutes."_

As Ratchet closed off the communication, Optimus turned to look at the damage to his soldiers.

The only one who had come off lightly in the battle was Mirage, who was tending to the others; Shockwave had blown Blazemaster out of the sky, completely destroying his legs, Sideswipe looked like he had gone through a car compacter and Arcee was completely out of it.

And Chromia was gone.

And no matter how many Autobots bit the dust, Optimus felt the loss of every single one of them.

Then his gaze focused upon the kids. They looked up, worried.

Optimus bent down to see them face-to-face, staring out of one eye.

"You children took a grave risk today," Optimus told them, "You could have all been killed."

"But we weren't!" Marcus said, "And what's more, we beat Shockwave!"

"I'm not condoning you for your actions," Optimus replied, "After all, the Autobots and I owe our lives to you three. We certainly would have perished without you."

Marcus and Stacy beamed up with pride. Ryder shrugged with indifference.

"But I must tell you," Optimus suddenly said, "That you must never do anything like that again; luck never happens twice—"

The kids turned blue. The Pillars were about to take them.

"I'll say more when we're on friendly ground," Optimus told them, "I'll see you back at the base."

Marcus and Stacy nodded, just as all three of them disappeared.

Optimus sighed.

The battlefield was one of the worst Optimus had ever seen. Body after body lay in the mud and vehicles of all shapes and sizes were ablaze. Trees had been uprooted, bunkers obliterated and Optimus looked worse off than he had ever been.

_All these battles are taking their toll on me… I'm getting too old for this…_

"Optimus," Mirage said, approaching the Autobot leader, "I need to take a look at the wound sustained to your arm. I'm no Ratchet, but it doesn't seem to have been put together well enough since Chicago."

Optimus nodded. "Even now, Sentinel's wounds bite deep. But I am fine; you need to see to the others before me. Luckily, we'll soon be back at HARP HQ, where Ratchet will see us through."

The Autobots turned a shade of blue, just as Korean tanks trundled their way over the rise.

"See you on the other side, Optimus," Mirage said with a smile.

Optimus nodded in response.

They were teleported away and arrived back at HARP HQ.

Carnage was revealed.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 9: Ride the Lightning (Part 1)<span>

_Take a look to the sky  
>Just before you die<br>IT'S THE LAST TIME YOU WILL!_

—**For Whom The Bell Tolls**

* * *

><p>Thundercracker charged Optimus and knocked him to the ground, the Prime's torn-off arm flying through the air. Mirage immediately reacted, slashing at Thundercracker, who backed off, bearing his twin axes.<p>

It was complete chaos. The Decepticons ran rampant, blowing apart the structures of HARP HQ. Bumblebee, Ratchet and the remaining humans fought at the far end of the room, sending rockets and sabot rounds into the ranks of huge Decepticons. Already one had fallen, a smoking hole where his head would have been.

But it had only taken Optimus a glance to realise this was a blow HARP would never recover from. The entire base was on fire, the Decepticons tearing it apart like vandals while Fearswoop screeched from his cage to be let out.

And at the centre of the fire and flames, Starscream stood like an angel of death.

"OPTIMUS HAS ARRIVED!" he roared, "KILL HIM!"

The Decepticons turned their heads to the wounded Prime, his immobile Autobots lying behind him, only Mirage standing beside him. He got to his feet and hefted the double-handed axe in one hand.

"GET HIM!" Fearswoop cried, "LET HIM BLEED OUT!"

But the Decepticons didn't move. They just watched Optimus with steely eyes.

And that's when Optimus realised it.

They still feared him. Even with all his injuries and scars, they still feared him.

For here before them was a cybertronian who had travelled the stars and killed Decepticon after Decepticon, never slowing, never failing, always coming out on top. Megatron, Shockwave, Demolisher, The Fallen… all had perished before this merciless killer, who had slain dozens of his own race, yet not laid a hand on the insects who populated this planet. They feared him, because he had never lost to them.

But one stepped forward, gritting his teeth and holding a mace in one hand.

"I'll take him," Incinerator uttered, a glow in his eyes, "Look at the old fool… dead on his feet, dead in spirit. He can barely hold himself up, let alone that axe."

Optimus breathed hard, still not over his defeat at Shockwave's hands. He set his back straight, staring Incinerator in the eyes.

"Incinerator," Optimus muttered, "I remember you from the Uzbekistan operation."

"Ah, now that was a long time ago," Incinerator grinned, "Right when the Decepticon army was at its lowest; me, Gargantaur and Blitzshot really razed that hospital to the ground!"

"You were the one who got away," Optimus spat, "But not today!"

He charged and swung the axe down. Incinerator easily dodged, laughing.

The Decepticons, smiling now, edged closer as well.

_I need to kill him… to despair the others…_

"You _are_ old, Optimus," Incinerator taunted, "You are nothing more than a relic for Cybertron's sad, doomed history…"

Optimus swung round, catching Incinerator off-guard, who managed to bring up his mace just in time to block it. But Optimus bright his axe round again, slamming it against Incinerator's block, the force reverberating through the both of them. Optimus hammered down again, forcing Incinerator back.

"Try all you like," Incinerator spat, "But nothing you do will save you from the end—"

Incinerator screamed, his back arching in pain. The mace dropped.

Optimus swung down one last time, the axe slicing through Incinerator's head, splitting it in half, going all the way down through his body. Unable to pull it out, Optimus let go of the axe, Incinerator's corpse toppling with it.

Ryder stood behind him, staring down the sights of ELLIPSIS. He nodded to Optimus while Marcus and Stacy stood behind him.

Optimus nodded back, his arm becoming a sword.

"NOT ONE STEP BACK!" Starscream roared with rage, "THUNDERCRACKER, DIVEBOMB, CYCLONUS; WIPE THEM OUT! THE REST OF YOU, TAKE CARE OF THE OTHERS!"

As three of the Seekers charged Optimus, the remaining nine attacked Bumblebee and the rest.

"Mirage, take Cyclonus," Optimus ordered, "Ryder… take Divebomb."

"Got it," Ryder nodded, putting on the shades. He readied the rifle before turning to the other two kids.

"Marcus, when I'm reloading, charge him. Stacy, get a gun."

Marcus and Stacy nodded back.

The three Decepticons attacked, screaming missiles heralding their approach.

* * *

><p>"Reloading!" Lennox cried, getting behind the ruined jeep, placing more round in his sabot launcher, "Epps, take the one with the missile launcher!"<p>

"They've all got missile launchers!" Epps roared back, "I'll just take Starscream!"

Epps launched another rocket, but hit Skywarp instead. The angry Decepticon let loose with a laser, the searing light flying over Epps' head and melting through the wall further behind him.

"I'll say it again, Bill!" Epps spat, "I should have never got back into this! Consulting consisted of not getting shot at!"

"Yeah, but then your left cheek wouldn't be covering my ass," Lennox shouted, peering over the makeshift barricade and blowing another hole in another Decepticon. "There's only nine of them; we've taken on more than nine before."

"With air support!" Epps retorted, "I don't think we'll get that level of help a mile underground!"

They sent rounds whistling towards the mass of encroaching Decepticons, flames licking them like the hounds of hell, hungry for meals.

"Even if we beat them all," Epps coughed, "The smoke will choke us out!"

"Not a problem for them!" Lennox replied, pointing up at Bumblebee.

The plucky Autobot fired his arm cannon continually, scoring some impressive blows against the Decepticons. He kept the fire up as Ratchet came up to his side, throwing boom-sticks into the crowd of Seekers, flames searing them.

"We can win this yet!" Lennox cried, "We just need to relieve Optimus and get to the other Autobots—"

But then a missile from Starscream sped towards them and blew apart Bumblebee's throat, sending him crashing into the ground. Ratchet leapt to his side, inspecting the deadly wound.

"Shit!" Epps roared, "Keep firing!"

A part of the barricade was blown to pieces, killing soldiers from Robertson's squad.

"I think we're the ones in need of relief," Epps muttered.

* * *

><p>Divebomb clutched his throat, the blob putting the Seeker on high voltage. He bucked and cried as Ryder reloaded.<p>

Mirage ducked under Cyclonus's mad swing, his blades trying to dislodge the Autobot's head from his shoulders.

And Optimus blocked another axe strike from Thundercracker, his sword bending under the pressure.

"We meet again, Optimus," Thundercracker snarled, "And we wouldn't be here right now if only you had stopped—"

"STOP THIS!" Optimus roared and raised his leg so high that it kicked Thundercracker in the chin and sent him sprawling. Optimus leapt on top of him, bringing his sword down with the power of a lightning strike. Thundercracker parried the sword away with his axe, trying to crawl away from the manic Autobot leader.

Divebomb brought down his fist, trying to crush Ryder. But the teenager was too quick, side-stepping, and shooting Divebomb in the hand, causing him to roar with pain. Marcus threw his spear, bouncing it off Divebomb's armour.

And then the Seeker's head exploded.

The flaming debris fell to the floor around them, Divebomb's body crumpling to the ground.

Stacy stood behind him, hefting a bazooka.

"Whoa," Marcus muttered, "Damn, Stacy… I mean… whoa."

"That was easier than expected," she said, swinging the bazooka about. Marcus and Ryder ducked.

"Christ woman!" Ryder exclaimed, "Point that at the Decepticons, not us!"

Stacy trained the huge tube on Thundercracker.

"Alright then, just pull the trigger," she muttered.

She pulled.

Nothing happened.

"It only fires one round!" Marcus cried exasperatingly, "Here, fire this!"

He shoved the spear down the barrel. Stacy looked at him with a '_you serious, you crazy bastard?' _look.

"FIRE!" he roared.

Stacy fired.

The spear shot out the end, slipping in-between Thundercracker's armour, causing him to jolt slightly. Optimus took advantage and sliced off one of his axes.

Meanwhile, Cyclonus kicked Mirage to the ground.

"That all you got, punk?" Cyclonus snarled.

Mirage disappeared.

"Huh? Wait, what?"

Mirage reappeared in front of him.

"Smart little shit aren't we?" Cyclonus spat, "Not smart enough!"

Cyclonus brought the blade down on Mirage, cutting straight through him.

The hologram disappeared.

"W-What?" Cyclonus managed to gasp, just as a blade tore through his chest from behind.

As he dropped to the ground, dead as a doornail, Mirage taunted.

"Seeing things, Decepti-punk?"

* * *

><p>"Will you ever survive a battle without your voice apparatus being blown to pieces?" Ratchet sighed as he welded Bumblebee's neck shut.<p>

"_Dawg, you must help our brothers!_" Bumblebee cried through the radio.

"Alright, alright," Ratchet said, getting up and turning back to the battle, "Let's beat these Decepti-creeps…"

He fired a heavy machine gun, the armour-piercing bullets tearing through cybertronian skin. The Decepticons roared and redoubled their efforts.

"What in the Pit's name are you doing?" Starscream cried, "They have the advantage in long-ranged combat; get up close and gut them!"

The Decepticons charged.

"BRING IT!" Epps roared, sending a missile into the chest of Ruination, grounding him.

"HA!" he cried, "THAT'S FOR MISSION CITY!"

Then the Decepticons were upon them.

* * *

><p>Cyclonus and Divebomb were dead.<p>

An electric shock ran down his spine.

Optimus brought down the sword again.

Something itched under his ribs.

"Lord Starscream!" Thundercracker cried, "I need support!"

Starscream suddenly realised he had sent the remainder of his soldiers to fight the humans. Thundercracker was on his own.

"When you want something done right…" the air commander muttered and launched himself towards Optimus.

As Thundercracker turned and ran, Starscream swooped down like a falcon, his talons rending Optimus's face, almost tearing out his other optic.

"So you finally crawl out of the shadows, Starscream," Optimus goaded, "You should have stayed in them!"

"I need not run from you, Prime!" Starscream roared, and attacked.

They slammed their blades against one another, both yelling unintelligible battle-cries, the sound of ringing steel screaming across the underground.

As Thundercracker crawled back up the funicular passageway, the remaining Decepticons smashed into the human barricade.

Bumblebee knocked Space Case out the way, before tackling Overcast, while Ratchet fought both Skystalker and Skywarp, trying to hold off the larger Decepticons. The humans ran round the titans' feet, firing their heavy weapons upward, tearing apart their armour with super-hot rounds.

"Keep it up!" Lennox roared, "Robertson, 'clusterfuck' formation, Epps use 'real steel' takedowns!"

Soldiers dodged past smashing fists and ducked under missiles and lasers, coming up close to the Decepticons legs. They slapped on boom-sticks, the explosives blowing apart the ankles and heels of the towering titans. Recoiler and Backlash were brought down in this way, before being finished off with rockets to the heads.

Skywarp blew apart one of Ratchet's hands, the medic falling back under the Decepticon onslaught.

"Ratchet!" Bumblebee cried, punching Overcast away and leaping at Skystalker. The smaller Autobot leapt onto his back and covered his optics.

"GET OFF!" Skystalker roared, firing blindly. A laser sliced through Skywarp's chest, who boosted away, screaming with pain and rage.

But another Seeker named Afterburner pulled Bumblebee away, throwing him to the ground before leaping atop him, smashing his armour apart with a pair of flails.

"HOW'D YOU LIKE IT, BEE?" Afterburner laughed, "LET'S SEE YOU GRIT THOSE TEETH!"

Bumblebee's helmet was torn off, leaving his face drastically exposed.

"No-one lives forever…" Afterburner muttered, "AND NOW YOU'LL FIND THAT OUT!"

He raised the flails high, ready to bring them down for the final blow.

Bumblebee raised his hands, a pathetic attempt to deflect the crushing blow.

Afterburner's chest exploded outward, his spark obliterated.

As the fires died down, he looked down at Bumblebee, a confused look on his face.

"I'm…" he whispered.

"_Out of gas?_" Bumblebee replied, before blowing Afterburner's head off.

As the Seeker's smoking cadaver fell to the ground, Bumblebee looked behind him.

Lennox stood there, his launcher still smoking, a triumphant little smile on his face.

"Get up soldier!" he yelled, "They're almost broken!"

* * *

><p>Starscream fought off Mirage and the wounded Optimus, losing pace.<p>

_How is this possible? They can't beat me… they can't!_

Starscream launched a missile into Mirage, blowing the Autobot back, while Optimus swiped at Starscream's chest, the sword tearing off his skin. Starscream roared and another missile smashed into the ceiling.

Rubble fell around them.

Starscream looked up at the ceiling. Optimus realised his plan... too late.

Five more missiles tore open the ceiling and a mix of metal, concrete and rock smashed down on Optimus and the Autobots in stasis lock. As he tried to parry away the collapsing ceiling, Optimus was charged by Starscream.

Rocks smashed upon their armour as they brawled, Starscream's buzz-saw tearing up Optimus's other arm. Optimus roared and head-butted the air commander, breaking apart his face while Starscream spat in Optimus's remaining eye and tried to rake it out. But the swirling dust and debris forced Starscream to break off, not wanting to risk being buried alive.

A missile slammed into his back. He turned, enraged.

Stacy stood there, desperately trying to load another round into the launcher.

"I'm out of ammo!" Ryder called, "You'll have to finish him!"

Stacy looked up to see Starscream looking down.

The air commander was more confused than angry.

_A child? This is… unexpected…_

"Lord Starscream!" Overcast cried, running towards the funicular passageway, "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

Starscream paused for a moment, which proved to be a mistake. Another missile slammed into his shoulder, causing him to scream with pain.

"Oh shit," Stacy muttered.

"THE HEAD!" Marcus cried, "AIM FOR THE HEAD!"

"Alright, I'll—"

But she took too long.

Starscream grabbed her in a clawed hand, causing her to drop her weapon in shock. She screamed as he lifted her up and transformed, his Raptor form shooting through the base and into the funicular passageway.

"STACY!" Marcus roared as the Decepticons ran for their lives, disappearing up the tunnels.

Silence began to arrive in the base, at last.

As the last echoes of battle disappeared completely, the HARP personnel looked around.

"Did… did we beat them?" Epps asked.

"I'm spotting a few dead 'cons," Robertson muttered, "I guess we did…"

"Optimus!" Marcus cried, "Optimus, get up!"

As the half-dead Autobot leader got to his feet again, he fell back to one knee.

"M-Marcus… are you all right?" he muttered.

"Optimus!" Marcus cried again, "They took Stacy!"

That was all the incentive Optimus needed. He sprang to his feet and dropped the sword. He transformed, his injuries presenting him with a brutalised big rig with only the two front wheels, and he roared up the funicular passageway.

"Christ, let's go men!" Lennox cried.

"Sir, our vehicles are completely totalled!" Robertson cried.

"BUMBLEBEE!" Lennox roared. The Autobot understood at once and followed his leader.

"Ratchet, see to the others… I don't want to hear about any more dead 'bots, you get me?"

* * *

><p>Starscream thundered out the surface of the Earth, the Nevada desert stretching ever onwards.<p>

He watched as the other Seekers landed in the desert and he transformed to land beside them.

"LET ME GO!" Stacy cried.

"Orders, my lord?" Thundercracker gasped, the battle having exerted him.

"Get Flatline to teleport us!" Starscream snarled, "I don't know if I'll have the thrust to penetrate the atmosphere… Optimus damaged my engines…

"Who did we lose?" he asked, staring around.

"Uh," Space Case muttered, "I think we lost Cyclonus…"

"Afterburner…" Ruination spat.

"A few others," Skystalker muttered, "So much for beating the Autobots."

"Silence fool," Starscream snarled, "We killed some of their soldiers and captured a hostage…"

"LET ME GO YOU CREEPS!" Stacy screamed.

"A hostage who needs her voice box ripped out," Overcast snapped, "Starscream; this was a failure."

"Overcast, I've had about enough of your whining," Starscream snarled, "So if you want to challenge me, then go ahead—"

"BOSS!" Space Case cried, pointing, "It's Optimus!"

Starscream looked behind him to see two shining vehicles heading straight for them, the big rig dragging its back-end through the sand.

"The old fool never gives up…" Starscream muttered, "Flatline; where's—"

But already Skystalker, Skywarp and Overcast had been teleported. After several more seconds and several more Decepticon teleportations, only Starscream and Thundercracker remained.

"Sir, I suggest alternating and heading into the sky; Optimus won't be able to get you up there!" Thundercracker said, itching his back.

He pulled something small and thin from out of his armour.

"What is that?" Starscream asked, puzzled.

"I… I don't know sir," Thundercracker replied, also confused, "Looks like something you'd pick your teeth with."

He flicked Marcus's spear into the desert.

Then he too disappeared.

Starscream looked at himself, to see he hadn't turned blue.

"Flatline," he muttered to himself, "If I don't escape, my ghost's going to haunt you for the rest of your miserable life…"

"OPTIMUS!" Stacy cried, "HELP ME!"

Starscream turned and found with alarm that the two Autobots were gaining fast.

"I will return!" Starscream shouted before transforming and heading into the sky, Stacy his unwilling passenger.

As the Raptor shot up into the sky, Optimus and Bumblebee transformed.

"Optimus, shoot him!" Bumblebee cried in their tongue.

Optimus took the large cannon from his back and aimed it upwards, the slug ready to fly through the air towards its target.

But Optimus hesitated.

"Stacy will survive!" Bumblebee shouted, "But if Starscream escapes then we'll never see her again!"

Optimus breathed deep, his finger on the trigger.

Starscream turned blue.

"OPTIMUS, TAKE THE SHOT I NEVER COULD!" Bumblebee roared.

Optimus fired.

The slug smashed through the speed barrier and struck the fleeing coward right as he teleported. The mixture of the impact, the velocity of Starscream's ascent and the complicated science in the nature of teleporting all came together in an explosion that blocked out the sun with its fury.

The two Autobots stared up, dazed, as if in a trance.

When the fire had gone, there was nothing left.

* * *

><p>Thundercracker fell in a heap into the <em>Ark<em>. He looked up, to see the other Seekers who had arrived before him groan and stretch with pain.

The dark and ugly hold of the _Ark _only reflected the light off of the glowing pairs of optics in the room, the lack of energy thanks to the lack of energon, the Pillars using most of it up. But there was one optic in the room without a partner.

"WOAHAHAHAHAHA!" Flatline whooped in joy and surprise, looking at a console, "WHAT A SIGHT!"

"W-What?" Thundercracker asked, still dazed from the emergency evacuation, "What's happened?"

"Something on the surface reacted with Starscream and the Pillars; something explosive!" Flatline cried with giddy joy, "He'd certainly feel that!"

"Lord Starscream is dead?" Thundercracker gaped, "Th—That's impossible!"

"Not impossible, my friend, but definitely improbable!" Flatline replied, "Let's just hope he's above ground!"

"W-Wait, what do you mean?"

"The explosion couldn't have killed him; it might have done if whatever had shot him hit _just before _he was teleported. But no; he was hit _as_ he was teleported! This means that the explosion would have simply blown him off course."

"…So he's alive?"

"Probably…"

"Probably?" Thundercracker echoed, menace in his voice.

"He could have gone anywhere!" Flatline cried, "Either into space or somewhere on the other side of the world; he was diced into millions of pieces and scattered to the wind!"

Thundercracker tried not to imagine the strange process of teleportation, so he pressed on with his lord's location.

"Where. Is. Starscream?" he uttered.

Flatline grinned nervously. "Don't know. He could be in the middle of the sea, or miles underground. We have to wait and see if he can contact us."

"Soundwave could locate him in seconds."

"Soundwave is still under my care," Flatline retorted, "Although he has almost recovered… don't worry, I'm sure your Lord Starscream will be just fine."

* * *

><p>Starscream and Stacy screamed as they plunged into the desert, smashing through the sand and dust, riding the badlands for over a minute until they came to a thundering stop. The F-22 Raptor lay in the desert, covered in grime and sand, camouflaged against any satellite or careful eyes.<p>

The cockpit's hatch hissed open and Stacy, still dazed from the ride, leapt out and fell flat on her face. She tried to pick herself up, but span around and fell over again.

Starscream laboriously transformed, groaning as he looked up at the sun. His filters were broken so he covered the view with his hand. He lazily turned his head, to see Stacy crawling away, unable to stand in her dizziness.

"Where do you think you're going?" Starscream asked, confused.

Stacy froze. She looked back, staring up at Starscream.

"W-What are you going to do with me?" she asked fearfully.

Starscream stared at her. "Nothing. Just don't run away."

Stacy gulped. "You're Starscream, right?"

"You've heard of me?"

"The news always flashes reports of all the big battles you guys have had on Earth," Stacy replied, remembering, "Your name always came up."

Starscream looked up at the sky with vanity. "And what did they say of me?"

"That you're a snivelling coward who would backstab _himself_ in order to get ahead."

"THAT'S A LIE!" he roared, "I am a forgotten soldier of Cybertron, entrusted with its protection and everlasting symbolism to our race!"

"Well, that worked out fine didn't it," she muttered dryly.

"What?"

"Cybertron's destroyed, isn't it?"

Starscream looked away. "I was dead when it happened," he said in a far-away voice, "I had done my duty."

"So, if you had survived tormenting that poor kid, then Cybertron wouldn't have been destroyed?"

"Of course!" Starscream proclaimed, "Who else but Lord Starscream would have defended the honour and self-preservation of our race?"

"You must be joking," Stacy almost laughed, "Look at you; dirty and beaten, you shout how awesome you are while _stranded in a desert_!"

"I am not stranded!" he argued, "I need only call Flatline and you'll be our first insect prisoner!"

"Then why haven't you called him already?"

"Because I have been forced to converse with a grimy little insect like you."

"So go ahead and call him."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

Starscream scowled and turned away, his optics suddenly far-away.

He came back a moment later.

"Well… it seems your good friend Optimus broke my communicator. Looks like we'll have to light distress beacons until Soundwave finds us."

"Distress beacons?" Stacy exclaimed, unable to believe the idiocy of this Decepticon, "Wouldn't Optimus find you first?"

Starscream scratched his head.

"It seems my logic engines are a bit scrambled…"

"I'll say."

"Silence fool!" Starscream exclaimed, "You are my prisoner and you will only speak when spoken to!"

"I really couldn't care less if you think I'm your 'prisoner'," Stacy retorted, "As I've got it your _my _prisoner; you're in my land, injured, alone and hunted."

Starscream's face twisted with bestial fury. He raised a missile launcher, aiming it straight at the human child.

"Fine then, shoot me," Stacy bluffed, shrugging her shoulders, "Then there will be absolutely no chance of Optimus sparing your life."

Starscream's eyes flickered slightly. "And what makes you think that he'd spare me anyway?"

"You have a hostage; they are used in bargains. Do I really have to read the Evil Overlord list to you?"

"Silence! Hmm…" Starscream murmured to himself, "Fine then, you are my hostage! Now move it!"

He pointed to the east.

"Wait," Stacy uttered, "We're walking?"

"Once again, thank your leader Optimus," Starscream spat, "My engines are completely shot; unless you wish to stay in the cockpit as I drive through this wasteland on your tiny human wheels."

"Well, at least I wouldn't have to walk…"

"Start moving!" Starscream shouted, "The hostage does not argue back!"

"You really are thick aren't you?" Stacy sighed, but walking nonetheless, "If you keep on shouting, Optimus might hear you."

Starscream almost exploded with fury. But he bent down low and looked her in the eye.

"Have you heard of another wise-cracking child?" he asked maliciously, "By the name of Sam Witwicky? He killed me. Now that is a fact. Then I killed him, releasing him into space. Now that is a fact. Now tell me this; is it a fact that I am alive and he is not?"

Stacy nodded slowly, a lot more scared then she was before.

"Then get moving," Starscream growled.

Stacy walked into the desert, with Starscream following.

* * *

><p>Optimus almost fell down the funicular tunnel, his mind blank.<p>

_I… she's gone…_

The room was still a mess, with Ratchet and Mirage pulling out the three Autobots under the rubble.

"Ratchet!" Bumblebee called, "Check for life signs in a 100-kilometre spread; look for a cybertronian target and a human one!"

"She's gone," Optimus said, dead to the world, "The child is gone… and I let that creep take her…"

"OPTIMUS!" roared an incredibly angry voice.

General Mason appeared out of nowhere, having survived the battle.

"General," Optimus muttered, almost in stasis lock, "What is it?"

"YOU'VE SCREWED EVERYTHING UP!" Mason roared with astonishing fury, even for him, "I GIVE YOU ONE SIMPLE INSTRUCTION, JUST ONE, AND YOU UTTERLY FAIL IT!"

"Hey!" Mirage shouted angrily, "Your species lie in their graves around you and you moan at Optimus for saving your wretched hide!"

"NONE OF US WOULD BE DEAD IF HE HAD JUST FOLLOWED ORDERS!" Mason almost screamed, "I AM A GENERAL FOR A REASON; I MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT _SAVE _LIVES! IF OPTIMUS HAD JUST TAKEN THE PILLAR IN A QUICK AND EFFORTLESS BATTLE THEN THAT OTHER AUTOBOT WOULDN'T HAVE DIED! IF HE HAD DONE THAT, HE WOULD HAVE MADE IT BACK TO HARP IN ORDER TO FACE STARSCREAM! THE LIVES OF THE MANY OUTWEIGH THE LIVES OF THE FEW! WE HAVE TRIED DIPLOMACY BEFORE AND IT HAS PROVEN USELESS! BUT OPTIMUS ATTEMPTED IT AND LOOK WHERE WE ARE; BRAVE SOLDIERS HAVE DIED AND THE AUTOBOTS LIE ON THE FLOOR HALF-DEAD! SO FROM NOW ON **LISTEN TO ME! **I. AM. IN. CHARGE. OPTIMUS MADE THE DECISIONS THAT FORCED YOU FROM YOUR HOMEWORLD, HE MADE THE DECISIONS TO DESTROY YOUR HOMEWORLD AND NOW HE HAS MADE ANOTHER DECISION THAT COST THE LIVES OF MANY! SO FROM NOW ON, YOU MUST FOLLOW EVERY LAST ONE OF MY ORDERS WITHOUT QUESTION AND WITHOUT DISOBEDIANCE!"

And with a fatigued gasp, Mason almost fainted from the energy of his speech.

No-one spoke. Half of the room was silent because they could have said nothing that would have matched the general's fury and the other half were silent because they knew he was absolutely right.

Optimus looked downcast, almost falling into a pile, his remaining arm dropping the cannon. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and despair, knowing that if just a few North Korean guards had died, then Chromia and the soldiers in the base might have made it.

He looked over at the unconscious form of Arcee and almost died with the sorrow that he felt.

_Why am I leader? Is it because I am a Prime…? What kind of a Prime am I? Have I ever made a correct decision in my life? Sentinel… Sentinel just wanted to protect our race. And me? I've tried to save lives, in both our races… and what has it brought? What has our pathetic war brought? What have my decisions brought? Nothing but corpses…_

"Optimus," Ratchet finally said, "I have detected two life-forms in the desert, sixty miles to the north-north-east, heading east. One is cybertronian… the other human."

"Starscream and Stacy," Bumblebee muttered, "Optimus, we can still save them!"

Optimus looked up.

He saw human and Autobot faces looking down at him. While he looked downcast, they looked determined.

"We're behind you, 100% Optimus," Lennox told him firmly.

Optimus clutched his rifle and used it to pick himself up.

"Optimus!" Marcus cried, looking up at him, "We've got to get Stacy back!"

He was almost in tears.

Lennox, although sympathetic, frowned. "You can't come with us kid, it's—"

"Let him come," Optimus uttered surprisingly, "I'd rather invite the whole world to watch Starscream's demise."

"But at what cost Optimus?" Ratchet asked, "Look at you; you're a dead man walking."

"Aren't we all?" Optimus muttered, "Living in a war means living on borrowed time… and I'm not about to let Stacy run out of it."

He headed back towards the funicular, Mirage and Bumblebee following.

Lennox looked up at Mason.

"Go," Mason told him, exhausted, "But if you return with another corpse… you can walk yourself out."

"If it comes to fight fire with fire," Lennox replied, "I won't have to."

And with that, the Human and Autobot Resistance Pact headed for the desert.

While Starscream walked with the sun on his skin and Stacy walked in the shadow of a colossus.


	10. Ride the Lightning Part 2

I am very, _very _pleased with how this chapter turned out! I love how it contrasts with the first part!

Thanks **Answerthecall** and **Megan666 **for your reviews!

Remember to R&R!

* * *

><p>The battered SUV trundled through the dusty desert, sticking to the old road built many years before, worn away by the sands of time and the sands of the desert.<p>

Gerin Rahb sat alone in the front seat, chewing on a piece of gum as she pushed her foot to the accelerator. Her sunglasses protected her eyes against the glaring sun, the long-sleeved shirt protecting the skin. The radio blared like an alarm, her mind racing with each bit of news.

"_Reports say the casualty list has reached that of over 300 people, both of North and South Korean descent. Despite this, South Korea stated they have not declared war, even with the recent assassination of North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-Ul. A__ spokesperson from Pyongyang has stated that cybertronian forces were involved; they claim they have a body of one of the aliens, although they are unsure of whether it is Autobot or Decepticon…_"

Gerin bit her lip. This was bad. Very bad.

_What happened there? Were the Autobots and Decepticons really clashing? Or is there a real war on across the sea? How will America react? How will HARP react? How will Optimus react…?_

"_Thank you Charlene, we'll continue to discuss this story as the facts roll in; until the__n, how about a blast from the past? This is for all you metal and rock lovers out there; 'Escape' by Metalli—"_

Gerin slammed on the brakes. She took off her sunglasses and gazed into the distance.

Smoke. Smoke was rising from the location of HARP HQ.

_Oh shit…_

She put the pedal to the metal and roared further into the desert.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 10: Ride the Lightning (Part 2)<span>

_I feel no pain, but my life ain't easy  
>I know that I'm my best friend<br>No-one cares, but I'm so much stronger  
>I'll fight until the end<em>

—**Escape**

* * *

><p>Marcus saw something glint in the sand. He moved his hand to his forehead, to shadow his eyes against the sun. Another glint.<p>

He walked at a steady pace to it, but started to run when he recognised what it was.

"I don't believe it," he muttered and pulled the spear from the ground. He raised it to the sun and saw the end reflect light in all its glorious illumination.

Behind him, Optimus, Mirage, Bumblebee and most of the remaining HARP soldiers under Colonel Lennox walked purposefully across the sands and sun-dried rocks. Optimus looked dead; his remaining arm hanging loose, his remaining optic flickering, his remaining will pushing him on. He had suffered through defeats in the last few hours that would have broken anyone else… but his will and perseverance kept him going, not resting until Starscream was destroyed and Stacy was freed.

The other two Autobots weren't better off; despite having gone through the battles relatively unscathed, they looked like the vanguard of a defeated army. The dust roamed round their bodies, tumbleweed brushing over their feet, their downcast looks revealing how badly they had lost.

Even the plucky HARP personnel who stepped with them looked utterly beaten. Their weapons hung loose by their sides or slung over their shoulders, the sun mercilessly beating them down. With the death of their comrades, their hopes had been badly broken, but they continued on regardless; they wanted to rescue Stacy… and get vengeance for every lost soul.

In fact, the only one who looked even remotely happy was Ryder. He wasn't smiling, but he did walk with a stroll, ELLIPSIS on one shoulder. No-one had bothered to take the weapon off him; it seemed to have almost become a part of who he was, the huge rifle on his back.

Marcus went with them, still upset over Stacy's kidnapping, but determined to rescue her.

_Which is strange, _he thought, _Yeah… something happened to me in North Korea… but I can't remember what it could have been…_

_Something's coming over me… I have no idea what, but whatever it is, it's changing me. Is it something to do with those visions? Something to do with what happened in the sewers…? The Allspark…_

_Why am I even out here? I don't need to be; Optimus and the rest of HARP could handle this themselves, rescuing Stacy and killing Starscream. So am I out here because of what's been happening recently? I'm pretty sure puberty doesn't consist of blackouts and hallucinations…_

_Is it for Stacy? Do I want to be there in person, for the battle? She might die during it… Stacy might die, my god, I've never thought of it like that! We could all die, out here in this damned desert; Starscream could have called for backup, called for help! And what would we fight them with?_

He looked at the small, defeated army that trudged through the desert.

_I could simply turn around now… never look back…_

He caught Optimus's eye and the Autobot leader looked at him, that remaining optic containing vast pools of ancient knowledge. He nodded.

Marcus nodded back.

_I am here for Stacy… and I will never leave her._

He walked with the defeated army, readying themselves for a long hunt.

* * *

><p>His right optic flickered on.<p>

Then his left.

He flicked them on and off, to see if they still worked.

His legs!

He gasped and looked down his body, to see his legs had been recently attached.

"Don't worry Blazemaster," Ratchet consoled from where he was tending to Sideswipe, "Just lie still and let the heat sink in; you shouldn't move for a few cycles."

"W-What happened here?" Blazemaster asked, stunned, staring around HARP HQ, whose fires were being put out by quick-thinking HARP personnel.

"That's exactly what I want to know," said Gerin, appearing on the gantry, observing the carnage, "What the hell did happen?"

"Starscream and his flunkies," came General Mason's voice, striding out of the command centre, exhausted, "That's what happened. They tore my base apart…"

He looked around with a sigh, his HQ in pieces, HARP shattered from one decisive blow.

Gerin then noticed something she should have noticed as soon as she walked in. "Where are the kids?" she asked, almost flying into a panic.

"Stacy was taken by Starscream," Irving replied, trying to recover the remains of the CVD from all the wreckage, "But he didn't get far; Optimus shot him down several miles to the north-east. Now he, Colonel Lennox, most of HARP and the two remaining kids went after them."

"The kids went with him?" Gerin almost screeched, turning to look at Mason, "And you let them?"

Mason shrugged. "They wanted to go and they've got Optimus protecting them… dammit I'm tired… but I need to call Charlotte and hope I don't get sacked."

"Pathetic," Gerin muttered under her breath, "I'm going with them."

"Miss Rahb," Ratchet argued politely, "I believe that would be a bad idea; your help would be much appreciated here."

"That didn't stop your chopper friend," Gerin replied.

Ratchet turned to look where she had indicated.

Blazemaster was gone.

* * *

><p>"You don't have any water in that empty head of yours, do you?" Stacy asked.<p>

Starscream ignored her and kept on walking.

The sun would have beaten Stacy long ago if it hadn't been for Starscream's shadow, but his pace was hard to match, so Stacy was always forced into a slow jog.

"I remember a documentary," Stacy rasped, "On TV about the Autobots and the Decepticons… your name cropped up a bit… you were supposed to be one of the big bad guys."

No answer. She continued her pace, her feet blistering with each step upon the sand.

"But up close… you're nothing special."

"Cease your whining," Starscream snapped, "It is annoying."

"Good," Stacy spat, "You've killed friends, humans, Autobots. If I can discomfort you in any way possible before you enter your grave, or mine, then good."

Starscream let out a low growl, which did unnerve Stacy.

Suddenly, she screamed and fell onto her backside.

Starscream turned, looking down on her.

A rattlesnake hissed at Stacy, drawing slowly closer.

"What's that?" Starscream asked, puzzled.

"A snake!" Stacy screeched, "Kill it!"

"Why?"

"It can kill me!"

The rattlesnake coiled for a strike.

Stacy covered her face.

And with a resounding thump, the reptile was crushed underneath Starscream's talons. He removed the foot, the snake just a tiny splatter on it.

"Disgusting," he muttered, "All of you organics are."

Stacy looked up at him. "Thanks," she said.

"What for?" Starscream asked, genuinely surprised.

"For killing it. It could have killed me and you decided to act."

"It is only because you are a bargaining chip in case Optimus catches up," Starscream dismissed, "That fool would do anything for you repulsive creatures."

He turned and continued, Stacy following in his shadow.

"What happened?" Stacy asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"On your homeworld. Cyberthingy."

"_Cybertron_," Starscream corrected, still annoyed, "And what do you mean 'what happened?'"

"The news only says that your race split into two factions and fought. It doesn't say why."

Starscream sniffed with disdain and kept walking.

Stacy, rather angry at this dismissal, followed his lead.

They passed a few cacti, a mesa appearing in the distance.

"Why don't you just tell me?" Stacy asked angrily, "You're not going to make it out of this desert alive; Optimus is coming and he won't spare you."

Starscream rounded on her then, dropping to all fours and staring her in the face. She fell back onto her rump.

"Well, if you can draw the straws on my fate," he snarled, "Why can't I draw yours? If I am not to survive, why shouldn't I just kill you now?"

Stacy looked up nervously. But then she frowned and stood up, staring right back at him.

"Fine then; kill me. But either way, you will never see another sunset."

Starscream glared with fury. But Stacy held her ground against the titanic transformer, unflinching under his withering stare. Eventually, he slowly turned to look at the sun.

He stared up at it.

"Long ago, we were united in harmony and peace… under a sun. It fuelled the long-dormant Allspark, gave us life and prosperity, and allowed us to grow like never before. It was Cybertron's golden age, without strife or war… it was paradise."

He looked down at his foot, the talons splayed and sharp.

"But like any paradise, it had its snake; Megatron, Lord High Protector of Cybertron found and colluded with a malignant force known as The Fallen. Under his misguided teachings, Megatron acted out of jealousy and a hunger for power against his oldest friend, Optimus Prime, and attempted to take over Cybertron by controlling the Allspark. Our world split into two factions; the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Autobots wanted to stop Megatron's wanton destruction and lust for power, while the Decepticons wanted to bask in the glory of tyranny and domination."

"You do realise you're not painting yourself in a pretty picture?" Stacy asked, "You're making yourself _sound_ like a bad guy."

"I will not disguise the facts child," Starscream told her, "Back in those days, all those deca-cycles ago, I was young and ambitious. I merely wanted to be on the winning side… but as the war dragged on, I began to realise that I didn't especially care for the power, or for the destruction of the Autobots… I cared for Cybertron. My home. And I had to watch as it began to waste away, metal turning into slag, slag into new soldiers, the war never-ending. The lines between friend and foe began to blur real badly. I began to see Optimus in a new light; there was a leader who cared for his troops and wanted to protect his world as I did. Megatron just looked petty and manic compared to him."

"So why didn't you join him?" Stacy asked, enraptured with the story.

"…At the apex of the war, the Autobots staged a daring plan; to distract the main Decepticon force at Tyger Pax while another group stole the Allspark from right under our noses. On reflection, it was a plan I could understand. But there was one problem; if the Allspark was removed from its place at the sacred temple at Simfur, then its connection to our sun would be lost and so to would it be. But they went through with it and managed to take it. Our sun then vanished, the energy that fed us now gone forever. It was so… cold. But as much as I hated the Autobots, at least I understood why they did it. But what happened next changed everything.

"Optimus flung the Allspark into space, to stop Megatron from reclaiming it; the last hope for our wasting planet was in his hands and all he did was throw it away like a petulant child. Our world began to die and our suffering was allowed to continue. It was then that I realised it; Optimus was no better than Megatron, doing what he did for his own selfish reasons. He acted without thinking of what might befall us all, throwing away our only hope and only source of life. I realised that both Optimus and Megatron were the same, only Optimus was a hypocrite, and I hated them in equal measures. I still do. They killed our world without a second thought, killed our race with their ignorance and doomed us all to die without a care.

"And now Cybertron is destroyed. Utterly obliterated. All because of their selfish reasons. We wouldn't even be here, attempting to destroy your race as well if it weren't for those two. That is why, I hope, that before I inevitably die in this war, I kill them both for their war crimes against Cybertron. Even now, it is too late to choose a side; the Autobots want blood and the Decepticons want conquest. Because of our selfish and ignorant leaders, we will all burn in the Pit, while Primus laughs at us all."

Stacy looked up in astonishment, never having heard this side of the story.

"So now you see," Starscream spat, "Before Cybertron's death I survived, because I knew I was not part of either side's war. All I cared for was our world and our sun. And now, after my death… both are lost. And with it, any hope for our future."

They walked in silence after that, the sun watching their every move, the sweat breaking upon her skin and the light sparkling off Starscream's armour.

"How long do you guys live?" Stacy asked.

"Depends on the strength of one's spark," the Decepticon replied, "Some may not see past a hundred, while some, like the ancient Seekers, have lived for over a million of your years."

"I can't even imagine living for that long," Stacy muttered, "There must have been billions of you."

"When the sun was out, that seemed to be what was going to happen. But then the war started. In the end, through the death and flames, I bet the highest population count on Cybertron was only around five million."

"You guys really are endangered," Stacy murmured, "How do you even reproduce?"

"Hatcheries; powered by a lot of energon, those strange buildings produce cybertronians, who will take time to grow and learn. When I was only two hundred years old, I worked with the matrons of the hatcheries, protecting the young ones from the beasts that came from beneath Cybertron's fragile surface. That was a much simpler time… and a much more honourable one…"

Stacy looked up from her ragged shoes to see they were approaching the distant mesa.

"We'll climb that," Starscream pointed out, "To see if my communicator can contact Soundwave; he would be watching from above."

"Soundwave? I've heard that name before…"

"He's our spymaster," Starscream muttered with disdain, "He knows everything that happens on this chunk of rock; if he's up there, then he will be watching us even now."

Stacy looked up at the clear blue sky.

"What about that other one; the one that was in North Korea?"

"Korea? What are you talking about?"

"There was this Decepticon; he devastated every single Autobot—"

"That would be Shockwave," Starscream replied, "Deep down, I think he's more disgusting than both Optimus and Megatron… but he's open. You know what he wants and how he'll get it."

Starscream stopped suddenly. He turned to look down at Stacy.

"Why am I telling you all this?" he snarled.

"From the sounds of it, you don't like any of your fellow soldiers," Stacy replied, "So it must get quite lonely up there. That's why you're talking with me."

Starscream turned angrily and picked up the pace, forcing Stacy into a run.

"There's no need to be so self-righteous!" she shouted, "It's alright to be wrong!"

"I don't need sympathy from human scum!" Starscream roared back, "I am a proud warrior of Cybertron, with a vision of our race without Optimus or Megatron, Autobot or Decepticon, war and hate! I am the only one who realises what's at stake… the only one who can lead us to salvation…"

"You are very lonely," Stacy said sympathetically, "Isn't there anyone up on that moon who you like?"

Starscream slowed back down, his gaze downcast.

"I don't like anyone per say… but there are people loyal to me. Well, I believe Thundercracker is the only one who really is…"

"Thundercracker?" questioned Stacy in alarm, "He was the one who brought you all back!"

"He… he was, wasn't he?" Starscream muttered, "We're so quick to forget the real heroes of our race… if it wasn't for him, I would still be hanging up in your abattoir."

"So he's a friend?"

"Not really, no," Starscream replied truthfully, "He's just a soldier who I knew back from the ancient tribes, who quickly latched on to my idea of unification… and then the sun came out. But he still stuck by my side. He's always had a bit of a twisted mind, but his spark is always set on the Decepticon cause. Plus, he's one of our best fighters…"

"I heard even Optimus had trouble with him," Stacy muttered, "So he's not a friend?"

"…I don't really believe in friends," Starscream replied, "Because if you don't have friends, you can't be betrayed."

"So you can't be betrayed by subordinates then?" Stacy asked dryly.

Starscream didn't answer that.

"There was a wise man once, I forget his name," she continued, "Who said that the meaning of life was to have friends… and if you have none, then you may as well have not lived at all."

"When your 'wise men' have lived as long I have," Starscream retorted, "You begin to realise that friends are just tools that can refuse to work. I have no need for friends, because they would slow me down."

"And you really are on life's fast lane, aren't you?"

Starscream stopped again and looked down at his feet, his weight shifting them into the sand. He sighed.

"Whatever you may think of me, whether I'm a monster or a lost cause, know this… Optimus and his Autobots are even worse off."

* * *

><p>"I don't think the Decepticons could be worse off than us," Marcus told partly to Ryder and partly to himself, "I mean; look!"<p>

Ryder looked back at the defeated army. He seemed to make some sort of calculation with his eyes.

"Starscream will survive; whether Stacy lives or not is up to Optimus."

"W-What? How can you even think that?"

"It's not a matter of thinking, it's a matter of probability. From what I know of Starscream (loud, arrogant, cowardly) and from what I know of our troops, that is the predicted outcome."

_**We picked the wrong child.**_

_**Indeed.**_

"Yeah, but, why not be optimistic?" Marcus asked, shaking his head from the dull headache, "You know, to raise spirits and all that?"

"Marcus, I am, what do you call it, a nihilist."

"Uh, aren't those guys supposed to be evil?" Marcus questioned.

"No. Just forgetful."

As Marcus pondered Ryder's cryptic conversation, he saw something glimmer in the distance.

"Uh, Optimus?" he called, "What's that?"

Optimus turned quickly, seeing the glimmer approaching from behind.

"Mirage, my remaining optic is failing," he said, "Please tell me that's not a Decepticon."

"It's Blazemaster, Optimus," Mirage replied, his optics far more powerful than any human eyes, "He isn't flying that well… he must still be injured."

"He shouldn't be flying at all," Optimus muttered, "But I know why he's out here."

They continued moving, not wasting any time, Starscream moving as much as they did.

Eventually, Blazemaster caught up and transformed, landing beside Optimus. He walked with shaky legs.

"Optimus, I know that I need attention, but I—"

"Don't worry yourself about it," Optimus replied in cybertronian, "Little Stacy has grown on you, hasn't she?"

"I… I now understand how you and Bee felt towards Sam," Blazemaster replied, "She has become a friend… I care about her and if anything were to happen…"

"I understand," Optimus said sympathetically, "And I know you want to get Starscream as much as any of us… and we will get him."

Blazemaster nodded.

Marcus turned to Ryder again.

"We now have better odds, don't we?"

Ryder shook his head. "The odds are the same; the audience is bigger."

* * *

><p>Stacy feared for her life as she clung onto Starscream's shoulder, the Decepticon climbing up the mesa, his sharp claws raking into the rock.<p>

"Almost at the top," he panted.

Stacy didn't look down, not wishing to face the sheer drop that might await her. She clung onto a nook in his armour, holding on for dear life. Starscream was silhouetted against the sun, his shadow like that of a deformed spider. It also didn't help Stacy that his armour was almost too hot to touch. A couple of minutes in the shade of the flat mountain had changed that for the better, but only slightly.

Eventually, the air commander got an arm over the top and managed to scramble his way onto the summit. Stacy fell off in a heap, yelping as her hands touched the even hotter rock, causing her to leap to her feet.

Starscream stood up, moving a hand over his face for the shade his optics welcomed.

He sighed.

"Optimus and your friends are around twenty miles from here," he muttered, "I'd best make this quick…"

He activated his communicator to try and contact Soundwave in the heavens above. Stacy watched with fascination.

"Don't you get hot?" she asked.

"Stars produce two things; heat and radiation. The heat I convert into energy while the radiation simply tickles my skin. It must affect organics differently."

"Tell me about it," Stacy huffed, sweat pouring down her face.

A minute passed.

Then two.

Eventually Starscream stomped the ground in frustration.

"Slag!" he roared, "Either Soundwave isn't up there, or he's ignoring me!"

"Why would he ignore you?" Stacy asked, confused.

"We don't exactly like each other," Starscream spat, "And he's left me out to die before."

"WHAT?" Stacy exclaimed, "BUT THAT'S WRONG!"

Starscream was surprised by this sudden outburst. "Uh… yes?"

"He can't do that!" Stacy argued, "Not to someone on your own side! That's like… betrayal! And since you're a commander that means it's like… I don't know, treason!

Suddenly, Starscream's eyes set ablaze. He looked down at her. "Treason?" he uttered with malevolence.

"Well, I think it might just be for presidents and kings, but it might apply to commanders," Stacy thought, "Or causes…"

"I… I never thought of it that way," Starscream uttered, "Treason… that means DEATH!"

"W-What? No!" Stacy cried, "Stop thinking that everything deserves the death penalty. Maybe, after all of this you could go up there and forgive him; then he might like you and you might be friends!"

Starscream stared at her, incredulous. Then, much to Stacy's chagrin, he burst out laughing.

"It was only a suggestion…" she muttered angrily.

"Soundwave? Friends?" Starscream hooted, "If you think I'm as social as a Driller, then you should meet _him_!"

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"Although he isn't the most sadistic creep in our force," Starscream replied, "He certainly ranks among the top. I heard he likes preying on the weak with long, metal appendages…"

"Stop," Stacy said firmly, "I'd rather we left this big rock; it's quite windy up here."

Starscream watched her closely. "You know what's funny though?" he asked.

"What?"

"Why you think I'll make it out alive."

"I never said you would!"

"What was that about me going to forgive him then?" Starscream goaded, "That sounded like you wanted me to get out."

Stacy frowned. "I still think what you've done in your life is horrible, but I don't want you to die; no-one deserves that, no matter the crime."

"How naïve you are," Starscream uttered, "Believe what you wish, but in future you may be forced to take a life… what then?"

"So are you going to wait for Optimus to rescue me then?" Stacy asked impatiently, "Or am I your hostage and we're leaving?"

Starscream huffed and opened his hand so that she could climb on. He began to walk to the other side of the mesa, to begin the journey down.

"And I don't hate you," Stacy added, "No-one should ever hate another; it's too petty."

"We're all petty," Starscream muttered, "And your views on me may change in future… just to warn you."

* * *

><p>"Optimus," Mirage muttered, "I think I see him; he's ten miles out."<p>

Optimus focused his eye. "Are you sure?"

"No. But I do see something, Starscream or not."

"It must be him then," Optimus muttered, "Which means he's seen us; we'd better pick up the pace."

They eventually passed the huge mesa, Marcus wondering at its size.

"The Autobots are small compared to those," Marcus muttered, "Which makes us _really_ small."

"What have the worlds scientists done without you intellectual mind?" Ryder asked.

"Can it."

They continued over the flats, nothing but sharp brushes and cacti in the way of life. A couple of turkey vultures gathered overhead and followed them. Marcus had no doubt in what they were thinking of, even with the metal titans nearby.

As they continued on, Mirage confirmed it before Blazemaster or Bumblebee could.

"It's Starscream."

The HARP soldiers shuffled themselves and readied their weapons for one last battle. Bumblebee and Blazemaster checked their systems.

"This sun…" Optimus muttered, "It's so strong…"

"Optimus?" Blazemaster asked.

"I'm tired, Blazemaster," Optimus replied, hefting the cannon off his back, "I've fought for too long in so little time… and lost so much. But Starscream must pay."

"At what price?" Blazemaster asked, frowning, "Isn't Stacy's life more important than Starscream's death?"

Optimus didn't answer.

As they continued on, Marcus realised how thirsty he was. He had been walking for miles in these badlands with no relief, the water running out hours ago. He looked up at the sky, his neck cracking with fatigue as he cast his gaze up. The clear blue sky only seemed to make him thirstier.

He turned his gaze back down to the desert, the heat waves playing with his perception of distance. It all looked like water, so clear, so cool… so close.

He thought back to the mesa… even that was small compared to the size of the country… and the country was small compared to the Earth… and the Earth was small compared to the sun… and the sun was so hot…

"Mesas are rocks. And even the largest rocks turn to sand…"

Marcus looked at Ryder, who must have been the one to speak. But Ryder moved on, oblivious. And the voice had come from Marcus's right, out in the desert.

He looked to his right.

A coyote walked beside him, his matted fur dirty and dusted, and his jaw line filled with rotting teeth. His eyes were like opals, filled with wondrous knowledge and hidden truths. Even his very stride spoke of a creature beyond his origin and legacy, a stride of purpose and mystery, a stride that could be painted a thousand times and yet each would still be uniquely different from every other interpretation of it.

Marcus looked at it with vague curiosity, his mind null.

"Tonight it's gonna freeze," the coyote spoke, his voice haughty and old, "Six lanes of traffic… three lanes moving slow…"

"…what…?" Marcus whispered, his vision swimming. But already the coyote was disappearing before his eyes, this ghost of the desert coming back from whence it came. Even if it was the recesses of Marcus's own mind.

_**Wh-What's going on?**_

_**We don't know… we don't know…**_

* * *

><p>Stacy suddenly found herself in the air, a sensation she found most unwelcome.<p>

"Oi!" she yelled, "Put me down!"

"For such a little creature, you do whine something awful," Starscream muttered, placing her on his shoulder.

"Why am I suddenly getting a trip without having to walk?" she asked.

"Because this trip's coming to an end," Starscream sighed, "Optimus is approaching and I don't have the energy or will to move any further."

He looked around him, tumbleweed and cacti the only things of note on the blistering sand.

"So it's here," Starscream muttered, "Here, after these thousands of years, that my life starts to fade away; this shall be my last stand… heh. I imagined it would be much grander than this…"

"It doesn't have to be!" Stacy argued, "You could just hand me over and walk away!"

"You think Optimus would let me?" he sighed, "No… I killed Sam Witwicky. There is no way I will leave this dust bowl alive."

Stacy said no more, unsure of what exactly to say to someone awaiting his death. She looked to the distance and made out the reflecting glimmers of her salvation. She looked back to Starscream's head at her side, his strange mouth a tight line.

"Do you eat?" she asked.

"What?"

"Do you transformers eat?" Stacy questioned, "For fuel."

Starscream shrugged, a movement that almost threw Stacy off him.

"We can consume scrap and junk for our spark to work slightly better; but it's energon that's the real foodstuff… shame it's such a rarity nowadays. In fact, since the war started, everything is now rare…"

They stood in silence, the Autobots coming into full view. Stacy could make out the pinpricks of the soldiers by them, coming out of the heat wave. She felt herself growing more nervous for what was to come.

"You know…" she gulped, "We're not so different, humans and transformers."

Starscream opened his mouth to argue, but slowly shut it. For he looked at the cybertronians and alien insects of HARP, walking side-by-side, outlined in the desert heat. He wondered to himself.

"…Yeah. I guess we're not."

* * *

><p>They all could see Starscream. They could even make out Stacy on his shoulder.<p>

Marcus's heart swelled. _She's alive! Thank God… she's alive!_

They were a quarter-mile away, but that was when Optimus stopped. Everyone understood why; they needed to survey the area.

"He seems to be alone… my shot must have wrecked his communicator," Optimus said, "Or Soundwave's toying with him. Maybe no-one knows he's here… all the better. Stacy seems to be fine, though scared… but her position would make a fire-fight a bad option."

"It's not even an option," Blazemaster replied through gritted teeth.

Optimus nodded. "I'm sorry; you're right…"

He sighed. On that note, everyone steeled themselves.

"Reinforcements could drop out of the sky at any moment Optimus," Lennox said wisely.

Optimus nodded. He was a sorry sight; missing a limb, caked in dried mud from the other side of the world and his cannon was languidly held in his drooping arm. His remaining eye had almost completely gone.

"Then it is time… let us see where this takes us."

They all walked towards Starscream.

* * *

><p>They stood off in the desert.<p>

The showdown had begun.

On one side, Optimus put all effort into making his back straight, flexing his fingers round the cannon. Mirage and Blazemaster stood on either side, weapons drawn, missiles and lasers ready to be sent at incredible speeds across the sandy floor. Bumblebee stood to Mirage's left, his arm cannon ready to fire whenever he felt like it. And around them, taking positions on the rises and shingles in the near-flat desert were the soldiers of HARP under Colonel William Lennox. They all had launchers of some sort, the rounds and missiles also ready to smash into their target at a single word. And with them, Marcus and Ryder stood, determined, the spear with one and ELLIPSIS with the other.

On the other side, an injured Starscream stood with Stacy on his shoulder.

"It seems," Optimus spoke across the sandy plain, "That we have the upper hand, Starscream."

"I am always in the strongest position, Optimus," Starscream replied, taking Stacy off his shoulder with his hand, "You wouldn't dare open fire on me."

"Maybe," Optimus said, "Maybe your right. Maybe each soldier will walk away without a shot being fired. Maybe this valley will be filled with corpses by the moon's rising, when the vultures come to feast. Maybe you'll die."

Tumbleweed rolled between them, Starscream's eyes narrowing.

"You're saying that if I hand her over, you'll just simply let me go?" he asked.

"Starscream, this has gone on for too long," Optimus replied tersely, "There will be other battles in future and it is there that we will finally settle matters. But today, I'd rather everyone just walk away alive. So yes; hand her over and we'll let you go."

A few members of HARP (including a couple of the Autobots) shifted uncomfortably at that, but there was no denying what Optimus was offering.

But Starscream was having none of it.

"And then what, Optimus?" he roared, "I just return to Megatron and say all I did was attack HARP and lose soldiers; where's the intelligence behind that? I have the hostage, I have the demands! Get me a Pillar from your HQ and then I'll let her go!"

"You must think us mad!" Mirage cried, "To just give you a Pillar and watch you walk away with it! There's no way we would agree to that!"

There was deathly silence. The wind blew strong, spreading the ground, kicking it up. Ryder's duster flapped in a quite dramatic way.

"Well then," Starscream muttered with a slight smile, "Let's see who breaks first."

* * *

><p>"Just accept the deal!" Stacy whispered urgently to Starscream, "You can just leave and never look back!"<p>

"Just accept the deal!" Marcus whispered urgently to Optimus, "Stacy's life is priceless!"

"And you could just shoot him in the back as he walks away," Ryder added, "Then collect the prize."

Optimus knew he couldn't wait Starscream out; it was only thanks to sheer willpower he hadn't passed out into stasis lock.

"How many Pillars do we have?" he asked Mirage.

"Twelve, boss," replied the red Autobot, "And we only need four to get us through easily."

Optimus sighed, his remaining optic having now completely failed. He was blind and knew that he was useless in a fight. And deep down, he also knew that even the three remaining Autobots and all the HARP troops probably wouldn't beat Starscream, even in his state.

"Fine then," he muttered, "Mirage; get the Pillar from HARP HQ."

Mirage turned with surprise.

"Don't worry," Optimus told him, "I'll take the fall for it… you just get that Pillar."

Mirage transformed and took off, while a triumphant smirk played on Starscream's face. If Optimus had seen it, he may have changed his mind.

"So this is how it's going to end, Optimus?" Bumblebee said, unable to keep the anger out of his voice, "With Starscream walking away with a victory? Sam weeps in his grave…"

"Really?" Optimus asked with surprise, "Do you really think Sam would care about being avenged? Or do you believe he'd be happy knowing that we had saved just one more life?"

Bumblebee looked down then, ashamed. "I-I'm sorry… I spoke out of turn."

"And I'm sorry too… for everything."

The sun beat down upon their skin, even as it lowered itself towards the west. Optimus started swaying, the heat blistering his metal and cooking the complicated machinations that lay inside. The other members of HARP were also feeling the strain, with Marcus and Ryder moving into Optimus's shadow. Time passed.

Starscream fell onto his backside, the heat beginning to take its toll. But Stacy was still in his grasp, keeping the situation exactly the same as it just was.

Starscream, not having noticed Optimus's blindness, turned towards the sun.

"Glorious, isn't it?" he asked in cybertronian, the electronic chatter impossible to be heard by human ears.

"What?" Optimus replied.

"The star. It's strength… it's power…"

"It's always been about power, hasn't it?" Optimus muttered, "And never about need…"

"People need power, Prime," Starscream argued, "It sates their hunger, quenches their thirst… and just delays them until their next meal. It is the way of life… eat up the meek, defecate their corpses, claim their land; and if you stand in the way, then you will just join them."

"Power must be shared if it is to be of any worth," Optimus replied, "If one person has all the power, then no matter what, someone else will take it; it needs to be shared if life is to continue its natural course."

Starscream sighed. The sky turned red with the coming of dusk.

"Either way, power does not save," he concluded, "In a hundred years, you won't tell the sands of this desert from the dust of our bones. We are on the road to extinction… and it's all thanks to you."

Optimus said nothing, not rising to the bait.

"What might have been, eh?" Starscream continued, the fading heat meaning fading energy, "We could have been so much more…"

"Well, look at yourself!" Blazemaster interrupted, "Holding a defenceless human hostage! It's your decisions that decide what you could be! So what are you doing here?"

"Waiting," Starscream replied with spite, "For victory to be delivered on your friend's back."

Blazemaster frowned at that, but could say nothing that could dispute his knowledge.

But they then heard a roaring in the distance, coming from where Mirage had went. Eventually, his slick Ferrari form could be seen hurtling across the sand dunes before skidding to a halt beside the members of HARP. A Pillar rested on top of him.

Even more depressingly, General Mason stepped out of the passenger seat, angry from not just the bumpy ride.

"I've brought the Pillar," Mirage told Optimus, transforming, before shifting his tone of voice to something more spiteful, "And the General."

"Oh."

"Sorry boss; the revolting insect said he would evict us unless I took him with me."

"Don't worry, I understand," Optimus replied before turning to where he thought Mason was, "General, I'm glad you could join us."

"Now listen carefully Optimus," Mason growled with no hesitation, "I'm leaving this in your hands, but understand this; whatever happens here will decide your future on _our_ planet."

The way he said 'our' sent shivers down Optimus's spine, but he didn't show it. He converted all auxiliary power into giving life back to his remaining optic. A red sky loomed over them all.

"Alright then," he said, loud enough so that everyone could hear, "Blazemaster will take the Pillar and leave it in-between us both; then you let Stacy go so that she can return to us. When she passes the Pillar, you can retrieve it."

Starscream nodded. "Fine then."

Mirage handed the Pillar over to Blazemaster in an almost reverent fashion, while Blazemaster prepared to walk out.

"Hang on!" Starscream cried suddenly, "How do I know you haven't sabotaged it?"

The deal halted immediately. Optimus sighed.

"Mirage, please say that the Pillar isn't sabotaged," he said.

"It isn't, boss," Mirage replied loyally, "I thought about doing it, but realised that this situation would occur."

"Starscream!" Optimus called, "On my word, the Pillar isn't sabotaged in any way."

"Your word means nothing!" Starscream spat, "How many promises have you kept, promises of vengeance and of debts not repaid… how many times have you lied?"

"Starscream, look at me!" Optimus gasped, "I have no time for this… just take it…"

Starscream glared but didn't speak.

When no more was said, Blazemaster continued to walk to the midway point. He carefully lowered the Pillar to the ground and carefully walked back.

Starscream frowned but also gently lowered Stacy to the sandy ground, who walked towards the Pillar.

Everyone waited with baited breath as she made her way across a darkling plain, the sand shifting at her feet, blowing the decayed rocks around her ankles.

When she reached the Pillar, she broke into a run. As did Starscream.

As she ran into Blazemaster's waiting hands, her eyes stained with tears of the ordeal, Starscream picked up the Pillar with his clawed digits.

He stared at HARP's maximum strength. They stared right back.

"This isn't over…" he murmured, before turning and walking back, the Pillar in his arms.

They watched him walk over the sands, the sun almost completely gone.

"You alright?" Blazemaster asked Stacy and she nodded, though tearful.

"Stacy!" Marcus called up. She looked down and smiled, and he smiled back. But then they looked at Optimus.

Optimus raised his cannon, his remaining eye almost permanently dead. He aimed at Starscream's back.

"Optimus?" Blazemaster asked, "Are you sure?"

"I can't let him walk away with something he does not deserve," Optimus said grimly, "I can't let him…"

He cocked it. Even with one eye, it was a sure shot.

"No!" Stacy cried.

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise.

"No-one needs to die today…" she said mournfully, "Everyone has lost so much… and no matter what experiences you've had with him… his heart's in the right place. If it wasn't for all that he's done… I would say he's a hero on the wrong side…"

They turned with a small amount of shock. They watched Starscream walk away.

Eventually, he was lost to the dark.

"Optimus," Mason said, with no anger, "Because of your actions over the past few hours, you will be transferred to HARP Africa and you will be unaccompanied. Ratchet will fill the role of Autobot leader here. And if the next battle we fight is not a victory… then I highly doubt that the Autobots will remain on Earth.

"Also, we'll be moving headquarters; high command is sorting out a new place right now, so prepare to move out in a few days."

They stood in silence, the sand blowing in the night. No-one spoke, no-one moved. They all considered what had come to pass, the anti-climax, the defeat, the results.

"Let's go home," Ryder muttered, "It's freezing."

Out in the desert, coyotes howled.

* * *

><p>Hours later, and Starscream was still walking, the Pillar being dragged in his wake. He looked up at the stars, so far away.<p>

_Their energy… how I miss it already…_

He fell to his knees. He looked about him.

He was alone.

Utterly alone.

Although he would never have admitted it, he missed the human's company.

"Stacy…" he muttered. _What a foolish little creature… yet so innocent, so naïve…_

"_Starscream, I have returned._"

Soundwave's voice couldn't have been more comforting at that moment, but Starscream still leapt up with anger.

"Soundwave!" he roared, "Where have you been?"

"_The infirmary,_" came the distant reply, "_You do seem quite pathetic down there…_"

"Cease your petty insults! Teleport me at once; I have a Pillar!"

"_I know; I __see it. Lord __Megatron will be surprised._"

Starscream smiled satisfyingly to himself.

"_Pray tell… how did you acquire it?_"

At this, he became much more nervous; had Soundwave really just returned, or had he been watching his journey all along? Starscream decided to bluff it.

"In fearless battle!" he cried, "How else would I have gotten it?"

He could almost hear the cogs turning in Soundwave's head. But it still left him only one choice.

"_Alright Starscream; you will return._"

Starscream spat on the ground in sheer arrogance for his triumph, already making up a speech about how he had faced off against Optimus Prime—

He turned blue.

And along with the Pillar, vanished from the darkness.

* * *

><p>When he opened his eyes, nothing had changed much. It was still cold and it was still dark; there were just familiar faces.<p>

"Commander Starscream," Thundercracker acknowledged, "Welcome home."

_Welcome home_.

Those torrid, disgusting words echoed around Starscream's brain. He was home. And it was the most hateful thing he had ever known.

Thundercracker nodded at the Pillar in his commander's hand. "I see sir, that you have yet again snatched victory from the jaws of defeat."

Starscream just walked past, anger building.

"And this is where I return for my celebration?" Starscream spat, "For a derogatory speech by our fearless leader? For a sleep in a cold, dark place, empty of nothing but the lives of sadists? Thundercracker, there is nothing victorious about this; victory implies a result that improves your position in life."

Thundercracker nodded sagely. "But sir… would it have been less of a victory if you had returned without that Pillar?"

Starscream sighed. He had to admit, Thundercracker knew where to have his frame of mind. And it wasn't in bitterness.

"Lord Megatron is waiting," Thundercracker added.

Starscream nodded back and continued, towards the bridge of the ancient ship.

When he arrived, he wasn't surprised that his lord remained in the elevated captain's chair, while Soundwave stood by it like a loyal hound. However, what was surprising was that Shockwave was nowhere to be seen.

Starscream knew the drill. It was time to grovel.

"Lord Megatron," he said, gracefully lowering himself to the floor in a cross between a bow and a sudden case of broken spine, "I have returned."

"So you have Starscream," Megatron muttered, his eyes dancing with madness, "And I see you have brought a Pillar."

Starscream gave a chilling smile. "I promised I would not return without one; here it is, robbed straight from the Autobot base itself."

Megatron frowned. He was obviously finding it hard to believe. But then he relaxed in his chair.

"What about the Autobots? How many did you kill?"

Starscream shook slightly. "It… was a tough battle… and as they are a cowardly lot, they turned tail at the first sign of my arrival—"

"You failed to slay even one?" Megatron pitilessly asked, anger rising, "How utterly pathetic."

"_No-one should ever hate another; it's too petty."_

Starscream frowned. Megatron always seemed to find fault, even where there was none.

"But still…" Megatron muttered reluctantly, "You did reclaim a Pillar; so it was not all a wasted effort."

"_We're all petty."_

"You may stay on the _Ark_, Starscream. But do not fail me again, or I will chain you up and leave you on that planet to rust."

Starscream bowed so low that his face almost touched the floor. "You are most gracious, my lord."

"Now get out of my sight."

Starscream turned away and left the room, Pillar in hand.

* * *

><p>Afterwards, after handing the Pillar over to Flatline who rambled on about 'splicing energon and dark matter' and getting his engines fixed, he boosted up onto the roof of the wrecked <em>Ark<em>.

"_You know… we're not so different, humans and transformers."_

"…_Yeah. I guess we're not."_

Being on the dark side, Starscream only had a view of the stars. But what stars they were, so bright and so many. Each one had planets, and those planets had moons like the one he was on and each had a story to tell, their own conflicts and their own troubles. He had visited most of them all before, one planet after another.

But none had contained something like the insects.

The humans.

And that one particular one, with her soul untainted by the horrors of the cosmos.

"_There was a wise man once, I forget his name, who said that the meaning of life was to have friends… and if you have none, then you may as well have not lived at all."_

Starscream sat on the _Ark _and thought about all those he had known.

He thought about Megatron. He thought about Soundwave. He thought about Shockwave. He thought about Dreadwing. He thought about Wreckage. He thought about Earth. He thought about the insects.

He thought about the child.

He thought about the sun.

He thought about home.

And he wondered at what might have been.


	11. The Dark Side of the Moon

A change of track here; this is a villain-centric episode! This is heavily (and obviously) influenced by the _Rebellion _episode of 'Transformers Armada', but while writing I could barely concentrate on one thing; you'll notice that subjects and scenes change as fast as the weather in this country :)

However, I am incredibly pleased with the completely original speech a certain someone delivers halfway through. You'll know it when you see it!

Please read & review!

* * *

><p>He woke up.<p>

_That means I'm alive._

He flexed his feet. They were still there.

_That means I can walk._

He flexed his fingers. They were still there.

_That means I can kill._

He sat up, his optics flickering on.

It was a dark room, near pitch-black, with only a workbench illuminated. He was lying on a table, various medical instruments located around him. He was strung up to them, his skin plugged by these energon converters. On the table to his left, what looked like a slab of metal lay there. But this was a slab with a face.

_Shockwave… where am I?_

His optics focused. He saw someone hunched over the workbench.

It was a horrifying sight, this creature of twisted black metal and evil demeanour. His clawed hands fiddled with a transformer's spark, while strange, human-shaped transformers hung around the bench, stroking his hands and face. His mouth was etched into a grin, teeth like carving knives, each one the size of a couch. He had just one, red, malicious optic.

"Well…" the hunched figure spoke without looking up, "You still hold quite a record Barricade; longest stint on Earth without a death!"

The figure cackled slightly, prompting the Pretenders to laugh as well.

"Flatline," Barricade spoke with dark menace, "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh yes, Kaon was it?" Flatline replied, "My memory banks do need a bit of a recharge."

"It seems you're scientific progress has advanced from the young… to the dead."

"Oh, don't sound so downhearted," Flatline uttered, "You should be happy that I nursed you back to health. Although you should also offer thanks to Ruination and his idiot partner for pulling you out of that human nest."

"Right…" Barricade muttered, "Where am I?"

"On the insect planet's only natural satellite," Flatline replied, "Do you remember… the _Ark_?"

Barricade nodded. "So I assume we lost then?"

"Exactly; pretty much everyone ended up dead. Luckily, Thundercracker and I… and Starscream helped resurrect Lord Megatron and the rest of his underlings. Since then, it's a race to recover as many Pillars as possible; bit of a farce in my opinion…"

"Sentinel?"

"Dead. Megatron wants it kept that way as well."

Barricade got off the table. He looked around and focused on the creatures tending to Flatline.

"Flatline, I believe you have… insects on you."

The Pretenders looked up with disdain, but Flatline kept up his etiquette.

"Oh, don't be so ignorant," Flatline chided, "These are my pretties… they are the Pretenders and each one is aesthetic and intelligent."

"They are repulsive and insufferably ugly and… what are you doing?"

Flatline looked down at the spark he was working on. "This?" he asked gleefully, "This is all that's left of poor Afterburner and I'm trying to splice the raw energon here with selective parts of dark matter to create something more powerful and hopefully… more volatile."

Barricade realised he didn't care, just as he realised he wanted to leave.

"Have fun," the dark Decepticon muttered, before turning to leave.

"Wait! Don't you want a check-up?"

Barricade turned back. "Flatline, I cannot stand another second in your abattoir—why have you only one optic?"

Flatline managed to stretch his grin even further.

"We're not gods yet," he said cryptically, "Not yet."

Barricade frowned. "Then I'll take my leave… I need to find somewhere that is brighter."

But as he reached the exit, he heard Flatline giggle.

He turned one last time to see Flatline cackling like a demon, his face a twisted mask of horror.

"Oh no Barricade, you still don't seem to get it…" the medic uttered with unmatched malevolence, "There is nothing brighter; this is the night we built ourselves, our outer heaven. It is a sombre place where you will find nothing but hate, jealousy and sadistic intent. Welcome back to the Decepticons… welcome back to the place where no light shines… welcome to the dark side of the moon."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 11: The Dark Side of the Moon<span>

_And everything under the sun is in tune  
>But the sun is eclipsed by the moon<br>There is no dark side of the moon, really...  
>Matter of fact, it's all dark<em>

—**Eclipse**

* * *

><p>They watched as a drone melted into a pool of shiny, brown slag. It bubbled and hissed, but the lack of any gases in space caused it to quickly harden.<p>

"Well," Mixmaster muttered, "That was a successful test."

"Still," Deadlift mused, "We could have increased the amount of horlotonium to cause a more stable reaction…"

"You forget; there's no argon on this satellite," Mixmaster reminded him, "I bet it wouldn't even fizzle."

It was at that moment Barricade passed them. He looked through the door as Deadlift turned towards it.

"Oh, Lieutenant Barricade!" Deadlift said nervously, "You're awake…"

"That I am Deadlift," Barricade replied, "I haven't seen you since Tyger Pax."

"A much better time that," Mixmaster said with a grin, "And since then, I've been promoted as well."

Barricade frowned. He didn't have time to converse with these two madmen. "Where is Ruination?"

"Ruination?" Mixmaster asked, "He doesn't come here often—"

"Him, Space Case and Overcast went out exploring," Deadlift added helpfully, "Not that there's much to explore…"

But before Barricade could leave, Mixmaster held him back.

"You know Barricade, things have changed while you slept," he muttered, a creepy edge to his voice, "And people are quick to forget people like you. You may not have the standing you used to have..."

"The day I wish to know of your opinion, Mixmaster," Barricade uttered, "Will be only when I read your epitaph."

Mixmaster frowned, but Barricade was already moving on his way.

* * *

><p>"There's nothing here!" Space Case whined unhelpfully, "It's just dust and rocks!"<p>

Space Case, Ruination and Overcast walked over the darkened ground, each pace launching them into the air, the lunar dust following in their wake.

"It beats the darkened halls of the _Ark_, doesn't it?" Overcast asked, "Out here it's… empty. You can collect your thoughts…"

"But that's boring!" Space Case moaned, "People think too much! You just gotta go fast!"

"Which is exactly why you'll never be _Lord _Space Case," Overcast muttered.

Space Case and Ruination exchanged a knowing smile.

"The stars are beautiful though…" Ruination muttered, "And Soundwave never bothered to stop and explore them…"

"Humph," Overcast muttered, "I was below decks the entire time on the _Nemesis_… the engine kept fouling up…"

"And now look where we are!" Space Case exclaimed, "A bit of dust and rocks, with everyone on that planet below us wanting us dead…"

"Most of us are dying anyway," Ruination murmured, "Afterburner, Divebomb, Cyclonus, Gunbarrel… we're just losing soldiers by the meta-cycles…"

"And for what?" Overcast spat, "So that Starscream can wrestle with another one of his ego trips? So that our corpses can be melted and used for mere drones? So our sparks can end up on Flatline's table? What's the point…?"

"Lord Starscream has a vision!" Space Case argued, "And if we follow it, then we'll survive!"

"You delude yourself, Space Case," Overcast muttered, "As we delude ourselves out here… one could go mad on this rock."

"For even staying upon it," Ruination muttered, "I guess we already are."

* * *

><p>Barricade was beginning to lose himself on the large ship, but managed to locate another Decepticon at the back end who wasn't resting; a 'Seeker' named Jetstorm. He had quite a reputation as being the dirtiest fighter in the army.<p>

"Jetstorm," Barricade muttered.

"L-Lieutenant Barricade?" Jetstorm stuttered in surprise, "You're awake?"

"No. I'm sleep-walking. Give me the lowdown on this rotted piece of metal, what's the chain-of-command?"

Jetstorm nervously bit the metal skin off of his finger and thought back to those on the ship. "Well, Lord Megatron is at the top, of course. Then he's got his inner circle, Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave; they're all back. Then we got the lieutenants; you, Fracture, Astrotrain, Bludgeon, Mixmaster, Thundercracker and Crankcase, though he usually keeps himself to himself. Then you got the grunts; guys like me who do the real fighting."

"Cease your disloyal whining," Barricade chided, "Or face immediate termination."

Jetstorm gave Barricade a withering glare, but kept his mouth shut.

"Now direct me to Ruination or Overcast," Barricade continued.

"They headed into the horizon from the port side, along with another guy I don't know," Jetstorm answered, "Hmm… as much as you're a raving fanatic Barricade; at least it's good to see someone around here who's sane."

But Barricade was already leaving, treading on Reverb, who groaned a bit before going back into his power-restoring phase.

* * *

><p>He floated through the void.<p>

He still hadn't finished wondering about the mysteries of the planet below, or the insects upon it… and how he thought of them.

And besides, maybe the child had been right.

And as much he hated himself for doing it, he felt he needed to share his thoughts. The simple grunts and cunning lieutenants wouldn't understand and he didn't want to rant on as someone like Space Case stared blankly at him.

So he floated towards the Earth, momentum from a single boost giving enough power to reach his goal.

Which was 22,235 miles above the planet.

A lonely satellite floated around in orbit, carrying an unseen passenger.

As he headed for it, he noticed another satellite nearby and was about to attempt to leap from it in order to carry himself towards his quarry when something interrupted him—

"_Starscream, if you touch that weather satellite in any way__, I will kill you._"

Frowning, the air commander instead used his boosters to fly towards the other satellite. Although he didn't take threats well, threats from Soundwave had to be taken seriously.

When he finally came within half a mile from the spymaster, Soundwave spoke.

"Why are you here?"

"Debate."

"Why do you want debate?"

"Because… I'm doubting my position within the Decepticon army."

"Starscream, I am at this very moment converting 890,241 xenobytes of data into information I can process; I have no time to be your psychologist."

Starscream didn't reply, but simply continued to float through space. Eventually, Soundwave let out a small sigh.

"Fine then," Soundwave muttered, "What is it?"

"Remind me of our goals again."

Soundwave frowned.

"Our goal is to eradicate the Autobots and dominate the galaxy, ruling it through tyranny. Did you even need to ask?"

"But… why are we doing it?"

"Because it makes cybertronians like Lord Megatron much happier to be in a position of even higher authority. And the whole point of this war is to end up happier."

"So we kill our kind for simple-minded pleasure?"

"How else would we attain it?"

Starscream looked down on the planet below him. He looked at the clear blue seas, the shifting clouds, the green landscapes.

"I admit, our old planet didn't have quite as much… diversity as this one."

"Diversity is the fuel of life," Soundwave replied, "Do not mistake it as something bad… just don't make the mistake of liking it."

"And what do you think about the insect planet?" Starscream asked.

"It is… madness. They consume, they restore. They destroy, they create. They hate, they love. They die, they live. They kill… they save. If you think that it is simply the views of the Autobots or the Decepticons down there, then you are gravely mistaken; each one has its own agenda, its own needs… they are creatures of habit and creatures of necessity… and they will destroy whoever gets in their way. They are insane."

Starscream looked at him, the strange Decepticon attached to the satellite, his optics shut, no need for them.

"So what do you want?" Starscream asked, "Out of all this… out of this planet?"

"What do I want for this planet?" Soundwave replied, "Isn't it obvious? Something so full of life can only be matched by how much it burns… I would just like to them all die, to see their little worlds turned upside down. That is how life works; something so bright as life can only be matched by something as beautiful as death."

"You're sounding a lot like Shockwave…" Starscream muttered.

"No; whereas Shockwave kills because it sates his hunger for it, I would wipe them out for the pleasure their reaction would give me."

Starscream's lip curled in disgust. "Does no-one remember why this war started in the first place?"

"Yes. But that is now immaterial; what matters is Earth. And I need you to keep an eye out for someone in particular…"

"Who?"

"Harbinger."

Starscream frowned. "That does not sound like a human name…"

"Of course it isn't; from the data I have collected, I assume Harbinger is a group of individuals who rule over Earth, manipulating it to their whims. Their movements remind me of the long-forgotten Initiative, who almost bested me. As of yet, I have not identified a single one of their members, nor have I located any of their bases of operations. If you ever consider to go back down to that planet, report to me with any findings of Harbinger."

"What makes you think I'll find anything like that?"

"Because you have a knack for getting into the thickest of troubles and somehow coming out alive; a useful talent."

"…What about HARP? The insect and Autobot alliance?"

"They are nothing. We could wipe them out at any time."

"No, I mean what do they know? About us? About this… Harbinger?"

"Absolutely nothing. They assume that we are on the _Ark _but they have made no movements to counter this threat. They choose to remain ignorant and allow us to make the first move."

"…I saw something strange when I attacked the base…"

"Yes?"

"Insect children. Would you happen to know why they were there?"

Although it happened in less than a microsecond, Soundwave frowned. But Starscream saw it and knew he had touched upon a subject Soundwave certainly didn't want shared.

"I have no idea," Soundwave replied.

"Really? Even though you located the base and know of what is discussed inside it, you have no knowledge of the children inside?"

"Why are you so interested in these insects Starscream?" Soundwave cut in, "Should you not be more focused on destroying them?"

"I've already said, I'm doubting my position in the Decepticon army."

"Then maybe you should not be raising these issues with a loyal Decepticon soldier," Soundwave uttered, "You don't know who could be listening…"

"You're the only creature in orbit who wouldn't laugh or execute me for what I say; you have the sense to listen, and see what could further your own needs," Starscream said, "And I doubt having me dead would help you."

"Starscream, despite your lack of intellect in battle, you do possess a low sense of cunning that I find… admirable," Soundwave admitted, "It may be the only reason Megatron keeps you around."

"And for someone to place his faults on," Starscream muttered spitefully.

Soundwave didn't respond to that and Starscream thought he might have gone too far. Eventually, to break the tension, he continued.

"You haven't yet said a word that would help me reconsider my position," he said.

"Starscream, whether or not you remain a Decepticon is no concern of mine," Soundwave replied, "You have two choices; either join in the march of progress, or be crushed underneath it."

Starscream looked crestfallen, but then something entered his mind. Something small and evil, something treacherous.

An idea.

"But… what if _we _were to take over?" Starscream considered.

Soundwave frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The Seekers would follow me and Shockwave lies in the infirmary… we could take it all Soundwave; we could usurp Megatron! We would not have to listen to another poor decision, another egotistical rant, another foolish condemnation! You know everything there is to know of the planet below; with your intelligence and my battle prowess, we could destroy them all!

"What do you say?"

Soundwave frowned again, this time a scowl of concentration. From a nook in his breast, Laserbeak flew and landed on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. Soundwave frowned harder.

Starscream floated in place, watching the planet below.

Eventually, the spymaster came to his decision.

"Starscream, don't suggest anything like that ever again," Soundwave growled, "This once I will forget it, but never again. I will not betray Lord Megatron, never mind how high the cost may grow. I suggest you stick to grunt work until I die, than make your move. But while I live, there will be no mutiny within our faction. Do you understand?"

Starscream nodded, enraged.

"Good. Until then, I suggest you speak to Barricade, who has recently awoken. He could explain his reasons for loyalty and you would do well to heed them. Perhaps you will learn something. Until then, leave me in peace."

As Starscream floated away, Laserbeak chattered once more.

"Are you sure that was wise, master? I've calculated the results and I do believe it would work."

"Laserbeak, you are so narrow-minded. Autobot or Decepticon, it doesn't matter anymore. I am quite content to simply hang above the Earth and watch what happens. It is simple… entertainment."

"Entertainment it may be, but remember that we are still in a war," Laserbeak advised, "Master, it would be wise to remain involved."

"Laserbeak, for a form such as yourself, I expected better."

"Master?"

"The real winners of war are those who pick up the pieces; those who stay on the side-lines until the very end; those who return before the finale to consume what's left. No matter the battlefield, no matter the war, no matter the races; the real winners of war are the vultures."

* * *

><p>The police saloon picked up speed, leaping over the rocks with wild abandon, smashing through boulders with the force of a freight train.<p>

_It has been a while… been a while since I was free…_

He shot over a crater, the low gravity helping his ascent.

_Brought low by insects… saved by weaklings… I'd rather know the whole story._

He landed with brutality, smashing up the dust and rocks, screeching across the surface.

An F1 car shot past him.

He chuckled with menace and chased after it.

The F1 car also smashed through a boulder, the remains of it slamming into Barricade's windshield. He crashed through another, picking up speed and velocity, almost touching the F1 car.

They raced across the moon, the miles clocking by, each one trying to get ahead of the other.

Eventually, Barricade knocked the F1 car into a crater. In response it exploded outwards and used a laser to blow up the ground in front of Barricade. He span out slightly, which was all it took for the F1 car to get in front.

_She's still got it…_

A missile flew from her rear, screaming towards Barricade. Going too fast to turn without crashing, he transformed, leaping into the air, flying over the missile, before transforming back to hit the ground flying. Two machine guns appeared at his headlights and he tore up the ground around her.

The F1 car spun slightly in its dodging, which allowed Barricade to ram into her exhaust, causing her to spin onto her side, transforming. He transformed as well and felt claws tear into his arms. They smashed through the rocks, grappling with each other, tearing up the lunar surface.

Eventually, they descended into a roll, each of them clinging onto the other to stop themselves from flying away. Finally, once they had slowed down enough, Barricade used his immense strength to pull her up and slam her into the surface, powering through the rocks and dust. They came to a grinding stop, each panting with exertion.

"I see… being dead… hasn't slowed you down."

"Fracture," Barricade purred, "Still manic as ever."

"When I'm not tearing apart Autobot sparks," Fracture replied playfully, "I'll settle for yours any day."

Barricade pinned her arms down and looked her in the optics. She looked up with a mix of apprehension, anger and desire.

"Are you still angry over Bonecrusher?" he asked.

"I was the only one he didn't hate," Fracture replied, "And I was the only one who could calm him down. And you let him die on the planet below."

"I could do nothing about it," Barricade replied, releasing his hold on her, "And besides, I hear you didn't last very long on Earth as well."

"I had to lead a bunch of junk-workers," she said, stroking his cheek, "They had the fighting skills of belruvian space slugs… and then the Autobots got the jump on me."

Barricade got to his feet and began to walk away but Fracture called out.

"Barricade!" she cried, "I still promise to kill you… and you can't escape me up here!"

"Fracture, distract me again and I will tear you apart," Barricade uttered, "I have no time for the games this satellite holds for me."

He continued to walk across the lunar landscape, spotting Ruination's group in the distance.

Fracture fell back into the dust and stared at the stars.

* * *

><p>"There's someone following us," Overcast muttered.<p>

Space Case turned around in panic, but saw no-one.

"Where?"

"You need your optics tested; a few miles, that's where."

"Then let's wait for him to arrive," Ruination told them, "It can only be a Decepticon, so we have nothing to fear."

"Unless the Dreads have been honing their claws and getting hungry for some killing," Overcast spat.

Space Case shivered.

"Crankcase is under strict orders from Soundwave not to touch any of us, no matter how bored they get," Ruination replied, "Although if Hatchet was on his own…"

Space Case took the trident off his shoulder. "I'll gut that ugly tiger," he jabbered, "It ain't getting its claws on me!"

"Calm down you fool," Overcast muttered, "I can see him on two legs, whoever he is. It doesn't look like any of the Dreads."

A couple of minutes passed. They were all slightly nervous.

Eventually, Overcast got a clear look.

"I-It's Barricade," he muttered.

"Barricade?" Space Case and Ruination asked in unison.

"Yeah… you guys have some history?"

"We saved him!" Space Case said proudly.

"You saved him?" Overcast repeated condescendingly, "I highly doubt that…"

"While Optimus and pals were tearing up Sentinel," Ruination told him, "Me and Dead End managed to retrieve his broken body. Space Case… covered us."

Space Case pouted. "I did well!"

"Space Case, you 'covered' us from a mile in the air."

"Wait, what?" Overcast questioned, "You two were with Dead End? What happened to him?"

At this, both Space Case and Ruination hung their heads.

"Poor Dead End," Space Case sniffed, "I liked him."

"In order to heal Barricade out of stasis lock," Ruination said, "Me and Dead End went to an insect nest to try and locate any remaining fragments of the Allspark. We did, but some insect kids got a hold of it first and Dead End said something about 'brain splicing'. I didn't get all of it, but he attempted to ferry the kids out of there. But the Autobots then arrived…"

"Optimus killed Dead End," Space Case muttered, "And Ruination got hurt!"

"Thanks," Ruination grumbled, "Suffice to say, it didn't work and we had to wait until word arrived that everyone else was alive. That rocked us a bit."

Overcast whistled.

"That's quite a story…" he admitted, "I would almost respect you guys for actually getting through those stages of the war alive, if it wasn't for the fact both of you are complete pussies."

But before Ruination or Space Case could argue back, Barricade arrived.

They turned to look at the veteran Decepticon, one who had survived through countless battles and killed countless Autobots.

Barricade nodded to them.

"Ruination?"

"Lieutenant Barricade," Ruination nodded.

"You were the one who managed to save me at Sentinel's nest?"

"Well… Space Case and Dead End helped. But Dead End has since perished."

"You?" Barricade asked in surprise, turning to look at Space Case. The eager Decepticon nodded.

"What happened?" Barricade continued.

"At the battle in Chicago, we all accidently met up at Shockwave's corpse—and guess what? Your spark was still beating. So while Space Case… 'covered' us, me and Dead End dragged you to the west coast of the country. Then we hijacked a ship—"

"Wait," Barricade ordered, holding up a hand, "You _dragged me to the west coast_? That's hundreds of miles."

"It did take quite a while," Space Case remembered.

"Yeah," Ruination nodded, "It took a lot of cycles, but we eventually made it. After getting you to the coast we hijacked a container ship and forced the human crew to take us far away. But after an… event, we were shipwrecked on an island. We then paddled to somewhere called the 'Philippines', dragged you a bit more, hijacked another boat, landed in a place called 'Taiwan', hijacked another boat, landed in a place called 'China', dragged you for a lot longer, killed a bunch of people, killed that Delahunt bastard, found a desert, put you in a cave… and that's it."

Barricade and Overcast were both speechless. Eventually, the veteran got a bearing on his tongue.

"A-And how long did that take you three?"

Ruination shrugged. "About three months."

"And I was in stasis lock all that time?" Barricade uttered.

"Oh yeah; you were completely out of it. Good thing too, for some of the things that happened on the way…"

Barricade frowned, indicating he would rather not know.

"Well… I guess I must thank you then," Barricade nodded, "You saved me, and I will always be in your debt for that."

Ruination and Space Case were quite taken aback by this. They scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment.

"Well, gee boss," Space Case said, "Thanks!"

"Thank you lieutenant," Ruination nodded, "It was_ quite_a journey."

Barricade nodded in return, but Overcast turned his head at something.

"Well, look who's arrived," he muttered, indicating with his head.

The three others turned, to see something not unlike a vast, predatory bird perched on a boulder.

Starscream looked down on them all, his red gaze steely.

"Barricade," he simply said, his glare undeniable.

Space Case, Ruination and Overcast quickly vacated the area, while Barricade remained, matching Starscream's stare in both ferocity and ice.

"Hey, Ruination," Space Case whispered, "Do you think I should tell him what happened in those Rocky Mountains?"

"Space Case," Ruination muttered, "If I ever see you with chalk again, I'll kill you."

"You know what?" Overcast sighed, "I don't even want to know."

* * *

><p>"Starscream," Barricade uttered, his four optics glowing in the dark of the moon, "You wish to speak with me?"<p>

"Barricade, why do you follow Lord Megatron?" Starscream asked with no delay.

The question caught Barricade off-guard, but he quickly rallied with a sudden revelation.

"You doubt yourself, commander?" Barricade asked with a wry smile.

"I never doubt myself!" Starscream roared, "But I doubt our lord!"

Barricade frowned. "I could have you executed for that comment."

"Then go ahead."

"You are incredibly arrogant."

"So why not report me? Go earn yourself a well-deserved promotion!"

Barricade scowled all the harder. "The only reason I haven't is because you are more of an asset alive than dead, but at the moment you are really trying my patience."

Starscream returned the angry glare, his mind filled with a thousand different thoughts. "You have yet to answer my question! Do you avoid it out of your own doubts?"

"Starscream, I doubt nothing, least of all my loyalty."

"So why are you a Decepticon?" Starscream growled, "Why do you follow Lord Megatron?"

Barricade turned his gaze towards the stars, so far away.

"Long ago, when I worked with soldiers like you, rooting out malcontents, I saw where the world was heading before anybody else. I saw the greed and lust for power in Lord Megatron's eyes. I saw our world would be plunged into chaos and misery with only the true victor coming out on top. I saw it begin to unfold, the jealousy, the lies… and I welcomed it. For you see Starscream, one way or another, peace under the guise of freedom will never last; we are a nasty, sadistic race, as is every sentient race in the cosmos. We all have an urge within us, to cause pain and narcissistic intent on another. It is how we are born and how we are cursed. And it will always be that way. I despise that… and so the only way to defeat that is through tyranny. Of course, tyranny has been overthrown in the past, but sometimes it's the only system that works; to punish and enslave is to keep the people in order. And order is what we must always strive for, because without order there can be no loyalty, and loyalty is the greatest treasure we can ever hope to obtain… do you understand? No, I see not… you believe that I follow Megatron because of how he rules. I do not. I follow Megatron out of loyalty to _myself_. For you see, no matter your belief, it is always wrong. There will always be at least one person who argues your belief and always someone who will be willing to bring arms against it. So therefore, you must stick to one belief and follow it with your spark for the rest of your life. You must not believe in yourself; you must believe in the you that believes in yourself, the one who will follow what you believe in; to be loyal to yourself, to be loyal to what you believe in. That is true loyalty and it must never, ever waver. For if it wavers even once, you are doomed to be sucked down into a whirlpool of doubt, of depression. Unable to believe in anything, you will grow paranoid of those around you, distrust in your very eyes. And in return, even your closest friends will abandon you, never accepting your loyalty, your beliefs. From there, loneliness will consume your very soul, the losses taking their toll on you until you find no other way out then the ending of your very life; you will believe that the only escape from your own self-doubt is to fade to black… but it is there that _you must return_. You will never have lost anything if you still have your life and your mind; with those two instruments anything can be accomplished, from being loyal to those around you, from others being loyal to you and, above all, being loyal to yourself; for that is it! No prison will hold you, no chains will bind you, no war consume you as long as you never stop believing in what you believe is right! For that is the meaning of life; not friends, not family, not love, not conquest, not life rewritten, not indulged fantasy, not salvation of the spirit, not illumination of the mind, not the joy of breaking hearts, not total dominion over your enemy and not free will; it is faith! Faith and loyalty for yourself and what or who you believe in! Whether it is religion, theology, philosophy or way of life… for in there you will find true happiness and true well-being… and that is all anyone could ask for: All I ever wanted… and what of you? Have you belief in our lord, in our way of life, unwavering belief that will never die? Or do you lie confused, ready to be consumed by the fires of war on the horizon, unable to face anything but your own self-righteousness? There is a difference between arrogance and belief… and you must find that difference yourself. I have helped you as much I can, even though I needn't have, and it is through this lesson that you must learn the true value of life and what you can give to it… and what you can take away. Believe in something, no matter the cost, and you will be rewarded in the end."

And with his sermon delivered, Barricade turned from the stunned Starscream and returned to the _Ark_.

* * *

><p>"You know," Deadlift muttered, "It is <em>really <em>boring up here."

Mixmaster didn't look up. "Yeah, well, we have to continue doing this; Lord Megatron pays us in that rich energon from the Pillars, so we might as well stay and make shit melt."

"Yeah, but he never _uses_ any of it!" Deadlift exclaimed, "He prefers to go up against Optimus Prime, fists swinging… even though he never leaves nowadays."

Mixmaster frowned at this, but knew that his friend's advice was worth listening to, even if it was for basic comedy.

"Yeah, well, we're Decepticon soldiers, so we might as well deal with it…"

"This is my point!" Deadlift cried, "We could be doing so much more with our lives, instead of just making things melt and rust; we could be using them! We two could travel to Earth below and plug a few holes in one of their big buildings, watch it crumble and fall!"

At this, Mixmaster's audio receptors perked up. No matter in what crude way it was used, an artist's work was always appreciated by the artist.

"Well… nah, Soundwave would spot us before we even left the _Ark_. And frankly, I'd rather live."

Deadlift lifted his arms up and span around, indicating their room. "You call this living, my friend? We toil away on this satellite of eternal night, never giving a thought to what we _could _be doing! We could smash into the Earth and wreck stuff, kill insects, swim oceans… it all looks so much brighter down there! Sure, we would probably die… but we've died before, right? And I know that death is the same as being alive… with nothing to do. So how about it? 'Mixmaster and Deadlift, Rulers of Earth'! I could see that billboard across the cosmos!"

"You always were an imaginative one, weren't you?" Mixmaster sighed.

"Is it bad to dream?"

"No… just silly."

"Everything's silly. I might as well dream about what could be sillier."

Mixmaster sighed and looked up from his work. He looked at the walls. Black and lifeless, a prison he allowed himself to be locked in. He looked out a hole to the stars beyond. They twinkled with mysterious life, yet they were so far away…

He turned to look at the squat Deadlift, his golden armour blunted by the shadows on the wall. But his face was hopeful, his optics full of wonder. Mixmaster sighed again and scratched his back with one of his four huge shields.

"Well…" he muttered, "We all die sometime, right?"

"Right!" Deadlift yipped.

"But… Soundwave would easily cut us off beforehand—"

"Not if we took him out first!" Deadlift cried ambitiously, "We could slam straight into his satellite on the way down!"

"Hmm…" Mixmaster murmured to himself, "We could…"

"Yeah!"

"But not now. If we don't go without some sort of preparation, our journey will be _very _short-lived."

"Sure… so what will we do until then?"

Mixmaster gave an evil smile. "Toil like slaves… only they won't know what hit 'em."

* * *

><p>A few days later, while Mixmaster and Deadlift schemed, while Fracture honed her skills, ready for vengeance and while Space Case and Ruination did reminiscence about the past, the Decepticons changed forever.<p>

When Starscream slammed into the _Ark_'s bridge, dislodging several parts of the roof and wrecking the floor with his descent, Megatron simply gave a knowing glare.

He had rather expected this. Although he didn't expect it to take long.

Starscream cast his gaze upon the throne, his eyes filled with determination.

"Lord Megatron!" he cried so that the whole of the _Ark _could hear, "I CHALLENGE YOUR LEADERSHIP!"

And across the ship (and, indeed, the moon) there was a collective gasp.

Megatron frowned. "Starscream… what are you drivelling on about now?"

"I challenge your leadership, Megatron," Starscream said, "Because you have failed to show any admirable leadership qualities."

"Like what?" Megatron asked, almost bored by the conversation.

"When was the last time you led our forces into battle?" Starscream sneered, "When was the last time you didn't sit on your throne and simply growl? When was the last time you fought an Autobot?"

Megatron frowned harder. At that moment, several Decepticons appeared at the bridge, looking through holes or peeking round doors, trying to discover the source of the shouting.

"Starscream, I need not answer you," Megatron intoned, "I am the Decepticon leader; it has always been that way and it always will be. Do not doubt what is written in the stars, least of all my command."

"Twice now you have lain in the grave," Starscream muttered, "And it is only thanks to your fellow soldiers that you have been resurrected! Indeed, it seems that the time for a new leader has arisen… and that new leader has arrived."

There was utter silence after this, during which the Decepticons stared at Starscream with something akin to awe. At the very least, it was newfound respect.

Megatron might have given an amused grunt, if it wasn't for the fact that Starscream held the gazes of the soldiers. And it was at that moment Megatron took him seriously.

"Starscream, I am no longer amused," Megatron growled, "Cease your futile complaining or face death."

"I am no longer afraid!" Starscream roared, "I may have been once, but no longer! The Decepticons need to take action… and they will not do it while you cower on this ship!"

Megatron snarled. It was a low, bestial sound, one that reeked with malevolence and doom, causing the other Decepticons to shudder. But Starscream was unmoved.

"What is this rebellion?" Megatron spat, "What is this treachery? Have you, Starscream, turned your back on the Decepticons?"

"This is not treachery; it is for the good of all of us!" Starscream retorted, his voice full of passion, "I am loyal and I believe in my loyalty; it is for the Decepticons, not you! I will no longer remain an aimless sycophant, bent on my own survival; I will usurp you for the good of all of us! You sit on your throne and hand out orders, yet you do not move a muscle to help our plight! You act like a leader, yet your threats are empty and no longer relevant! It is over Megatron; you achieved what you wished in the past out of cunning and ruthlessness, but too long trapped under ice and the cold hand of death have changed you into a mindless fool! So it is not in treason that I challenge you, but because it is the right thing to do! And if you expect anyone to just bow at your feet and… wait… I understand now… yes, I see! The only reason you treat me below everyone else is not because of constant failures which I never perform; it is because you are jealous of _me_! I was the one that helped rescue you from the insect prison and the one who helped resurrect you on _both _occasions, as well as advising retreat against impossible odds! I have always made the right decisions and for that reason you jealously… no, you FEAR ME!"

As Megatron flexed his fingers with rage, Starscream thought back to all those times that his lord had laid him low, brought him down, blamed him… and he felt rage flow through him like a rolling river.

"SO LET THIS BE SO!" he roared with the fury of thousands of years of waste, "IN THE DARK OF THE MOON, I CHALLENGE YOU, LORD MEGATRON, FOR THE RIGHT TO BE DECEPTICON LEADER!"

With a roar that shook the foundations of the _Ark_, Megatron leapt off the throne and charged.

* * *

><p>A flail descending from his arm, Megatron swung it round with the speed of sound, Starscream barely dodging back. He brought up his buzzsaw and twin arm-blades and slashed back. Megatron blocked this with an arm, Starscream's weapons unable to break through it, before swinging the flail in a downwards arc. Starscream leapt forward and the flail wrapped round his arm. He launched a punch with his left hand, a simple glancing blow off Megatron's chin, who simply roared and nutted him.<p>

Shards of razor-sharp metal fell from Starscream's face, but he was unable to fall back; his arm was still wrapped up by the flail. Megatron laughed and withdrew a blaster off his back, intent on finishing his air commander with one well-placed shot.

Starscream launched himself into the air, his jets pulling him upwards. Although he normally wouldn't have been able to pull his lord up, the moon's low gravity negated that. Megatron was forced upwards by Starscream's ascent, unable to prevent his rise towards the ceiling.

Starscream smashed through it, the metal flying everywhere, Megatron unwillingly following, unable to detach his flail from Starscream's arm. With a sudden change of direction, Starscream turned and shot downwards, smashing into Megatron, sending them straight towards the lunar surface.

They smashed into the ground, the force of the impact scattering them back into space. His flail utterly destroyed by the impact, Megatron roared and took another blaster off his back and sent several high-powered slugs through the void towards Starscream. In response, the air commander shot forward, dodging the slugs by inches, matching the speed of the railgun. He smashed into Megatron again, roaring with unintelligible hatred, his Buzzsaw biting into his lord's face. Megatron bit down hard on the saw and tore it off with his mouth, causing Starscream to scream in pain. Megatron then reached behind Starscream's back and tore off one of the jets before using his other hand to punch the former sycophant in the abdomen. Starscream roared and spun, smashing Megatron's face with a roundhouse kick. Metal and energon nearly exploded from Megatron's face, yelling his hatred as he floated through space.

Starscream's left hand became a missile launcher and he prepared to deal the killing blow to his former master.

All of a sudden, his arm exploded and he roared with pain. Something raked his eyes, claws trying to pluck out his optics.

"NOT AGAIN!" he roared, "I WILL NOT BE BLIND AGAIN!"

He swatted away whatever was attacking him, just as another sonic blast tore open his side. Screaming, he fell into stasis lock with the pain.

Megatron, with one optic hanging loose, looked towards his saviour.

Soundwave floated in space, his sonic cannons cooling down. A slightly ruffled Laserbeak landed on his shoulder.

"My lord," Soundwave acknowledged, "Are you alright?"

Megatron spat out a tooth. "Soundwave."

"Yes Lord Megatron; it is I."

"Is Starscream in stasis lock?"

"Indeed."

Megatron then rounded with astonishing fury on Soundwave. "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

Soundwave frowned. "Do what?"

"YOU HAVE JUST PROVEN EVERYTHING STARSCREAM PROCLAIMED AS TRUTH! HE OPENLY CHALLENGED ME AND SO IT WAS MEANT TO BE THAT EITHER I KILLED HIM OR HE KILLED ME!"

The ferocity in which this was delivered chilled Soundwave slightly.

"You would prefer death?" Soundwave intoned, "That can be arranged."

"Do not dare threaten me, Soundwave."

"Then, if you please, allow me to finish him off."

Megatron cast his furious gaze towards Starscream.

"No."

"My lord?" Soundwave asked, shocked. For one of the few times in his life, his calculations had been wrong.

"For Starscream to die now, nothing would have been accomplished," Megatron muttered, "And despite his faults, he is still one of my warriors. If I let him live and allow him to watch true leadership, then the chances of rebellion would dwindle further; they would all have a newfound respect for me. Besides, I've got something planned for him... hang him out for all to see and make sure Flatline does not tend to him for a few days…"

Soundwave nodded and moved towards the body.

Megatron cast his gaze about and found it settling on Earth.

That distant rock.

He felt fury rise inside like a volcano.

_The war still rages because of that miserable little planet… and it's disgusting occupants. And the longer it drags on, Decepticons like Starscream will rise up again and again…_

_We must wipe them out. Not slaughter, not massacre… but genocide. Yessss… extinction is the only way to fully wipe out the human disease that has gripped Optimus and his Autobots. Then they will be next and no-one will be able to stop us…_

_The war is coming to its head… which is disappointing in some ways, but relieving in others. Soon, we will reach the end… AND THE GALAXY WILL BE MINE!_

He turned his head to the stars and laughed.

And though it was said that in space no-one can hear you, the dark side of the moon became much darker with his joy.

* * *

><p>Before I forget, once again, thank you <strong>Answerthecall <strong>for another review!


	12. Spine of God

It almost looked like a stalagmite. At an angle.

It shot out of the _Ark_, what had once been a landing girder, bent and destroyed by the crash many years ago. It stretched from the ship, towards the stars, as if longing to escape from the horrors of what lay on the dark side of the moon.

And at its tip, a Decepticon was splayed for all to see, hung in chains of misery.

The remaining Decepticons gathered round, casting their gaze up in fear and awe.

"So you see," Megatron cried from his pedestal, looking down on them all, "Those that wish to face me or argue my tactics or desert us, they may do so… and be crushed. I am Megatron. I am the lord of all Decepticons and even in death there is no command but mine! Do not dare doubt my omnipotence or destiny; for you shall be annihilated by it! I have lived through war and waste, peace and prosperity, metal and energon, fighting for my life… and sometimes failing. But I have always returned; I am alive! And no matter the storm or fire that heralds our enemies approach, _I_ _will not die again_! If you have the spark or the idiocy of a fool, then challenge me; but only do so at your own peril! For you see, if you dare have dreams of power, you will be destroyed by them… and here you see something you will never see again; I spare this impudent fool only to show the rest of you that I AM MEGATRON. Never doubt me and never think you can take over, for _I will crush you_! So Starscream will hang from his crucifix, to show all of you what happens when you doubt me… and his sentence has only just begun. Once his skin and metal have rusted somewhat, I will cast him to Earth to see if he can survive a hell trapped under ice… a hell that was nothing compared to the torture I endured… but endure it I did. For I have endured the elements, I have endured the betrayals and I have endured death itself more than once to tell you all that I. AM. LORD. MEGATRON."

The crowd punched the sky and roared their hails, each Decepticon trying to outdo the other in volume and tenacity.

And all the while, Starscream looked up at the stars and felt his hopes and dreams come crashing down.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 12: Spine of God<span>

_Peace is what you get from the Chemical King, yeah, yeah  
>You don't yank on the Spine of God<br>You get what you give, you know what I mean  
>Don't be surprised, there's a bug in your eye!<em>

—**Spine of God**

* * *

><p>He raced down the highway, thoughts burning through his mind.<p>

"_I don't believe this," Lennox sighed._

"_What is it?" Sideswipe asked._

"_We're moving back in; our new HQ is going to be Diego Garcia."_

He sped past an RV, the occupants visibly shocked at his annihilation of the speed limit.

"_But…" Blazemaster muttered pathetically._

"_I know there are bad memories," Lennox muttered, "And it's not my decision. But I've seen it and it's been turned into an island fortress; there is no way the Decepticons would attack, and if they did, they wouldn't live very long to regret it."_

"_We had some unassailable strongholds on Cybertron," Mirage spat, "Guess what? They were assailed."_

He shot up a mountain road, the wind whipping his skin, the metal biting. It felt good. It felt real. Nothing of the past few weeks had felt real at all.

"_I can't believe they left me behind!" Fearswoop whined, "I mean, me and Starscream go way back!"_

"_I can't stand another second here!" Bumblebee cried, kicking over a table in the ruined and burnt out HQ, "I'm going on patrol…"_

"_Bumblebee."_

_The yellow Autobot turned, seeing the Optimus on Ratchet's operating table. He shouldn't have been alive, let alone still have the ability to speak._

"_Yes, Optimus?"_

He flew down the road, his mind buzzing with the idiocy of it all. He swerved past a big rig, which honked its huge horn. Bee ignored it, tearing up the asphalt.

"_If you do intend to go…" Optimus muttered, breathing heavily from his injuries, "Then go to Oregon… we've picked up a strange energon reading… as my last act here, I'd like you to go investigate it… Ratchet has the coordinates…"_

_He gritted his teeth with pain. Bumblebee frowned._

"_Of course, Optimus," Bumblebee nodded, "But…"_

_Optimus looked at him. Bumblebee couldn't hold it in any longer._

"_They can't send you away!" he canted in their dialect, "Not to some arid desert in the middle of nowhere; we need you here, more than ever! Without you leading us, Earth would have been destroyed ten times over!"_

_Optimus smiled in gratitude. Bumblebee's heart swelled with pride._

"_Bumblebee, you forget… we were the ones who forced this war upon Earth… if it wasn't for us, Earth would never even have to deal with the Decepticons… you must understand, we are guests and we must respect the owner's wishes—"_

"_No," Bumblebee argued, "We are pets that they look after; and at the first sign of disobedience, we're thrown away!"_

_Optimus sighed. All of a sudden, he looked very old and very haunted._

"_You still don't understand… we owe it to this planet… for what we have delivered, there must be a price to pay… or we risk losing everything, and so do they…"_

Bumblebee sped round a corner and saw the oncoming car too late.

Everything slowed down. Bumblebee all saw it happen in sick slow motion.

The father, his mouth open with terror. The mother, her eyes wide with shock. Their children, too young to understand what was going on.

The squeal of rubber on tarmac and the alien sounds of transformation played out slowly, Bumblebee seeing every microsecond.

He alternated and leapt over the vehicle, scraping the hood as he did so. But he kept on going, and as the car squealed to a halt, he fell over the mountainside.

He slammed into the sheer surface, skin flaking off, his limbs smashing into outcropping rocks, metal and muscles torn up and glass shattered. He scraped down the mountain, trying to find grip with his hands, but none came. He didn't even bother yelling as the ground came up to meet him.

He smashed into the ground with a sickening thump.

* * *

><p>"Are the hallucinations still frequent?" Gerin asked.<p>

"Yes," Marcus answered truthfully, as Gerin scratched at her notepad, "They still happen…"

"The same images?"

Marcus nodded. "Of transformers, usually Decepticons," he said, "Though I have no idea why… usually it's one I've been given pictures of like Soundwave or Astrotrain or Thundercracker… and then there are some that I don't recognise, that aren't in the files we have…"

"Like what?"

Marcus shrugged. "They have leering faces and evil eyes, with weapons… cruel weapons…"

"Are there any other visions?"

Marcus shifted uncomfortably and Gerin could tell that he still had secrets he wanted to hide.

"I'm here to deal with any problems you might have," she said gently, smiling, "I'm not reporting to any generals or any Autobots; this is simply about helping you."

Marcus looked at her smile with fascinated eyes. _No-one should be able to smile that beautifully…_

"Well," he muttered, "Do you remember the time that I saw Barricade in the CVD?"

Gerin nodded, urging him to continue.

"Well… I spoke to him."

Gerin stared at him.

Marcus shrank in on himself. "I knew it sounded insane…"

"No!" Gerin gasped, "Tell me what you said to him; it isn't about insanity, it's about information."

"Well, we sort of discussed stuff… like death…"

"What was he like?"

"A bit rude," Marcus said, shrugging, "But an all-round warrior. Humans and transformers aren't that different really…"

"Of course they aren't," Gerin said with another smile, "They are the same as us, just… ahead of our time."

"In what way?"

"In age. No creature should live for as many years as they have and no war should ever continue for that long either… they have made mistakes humans have yet to learn from, while they hide behind us like lambs... they are so foolish, and yet so lovable for that reason."

"You love them?" Marcus asked in surprise.

"Marcus, they are extinct," Gerin replied sadly, "The first contact humanity has ever had with extra-terrestrials, and the ones that appear are doomed to die from their first foot upon our planet… it's so tragic, because you can see where they've gone wrong, but can do nothing to help. So really, I don't love them for what they are; foolish, bloodthirsty, maniacal… rather, I love them for what they could have been; wise, awe-inspiring and powerful."

"I think they're powerful already," Marcus said.

"True power comes not from strength or size; it comes from knowledge and deception," Gerin said sagely, "Secrets, lies and distrust are what power the machine of war. If no-one held back any secrets, then the world would probably be a peaceful place… it's such a shame."

Marcus looked guiltily at his feet.

"Um," he stammered, "I don't really know about this, but… well… I think I hear voices sometimes… and out in the desert, I thought I saw something… but I'm not sure about it… It's very confusing."

Gerin nodded, understanding. "Do the voices tell you to do things?"

"Not exactly… they sort of just say some stuff to each other and then I get a headache."

Gerin frowned, this time not understanding. "You… might have the developing stages of paranoia schizophrenia… but I'm not sure…"

"Paranoia schizothingy?" Marcus asked, "That's bad isn't it?"

"I don't consider any illness to be 'be'," Gerin answered, "Really, it shows you what sort of a person you are if you can overcome illnesses. If you can't overcome them, then you die."

"That's a bit pessimistic, isn't it?"

"Rather, it's just the way of the world; it sorts the weak from the strong, much better than any stupid war could…" she sighed sadly, "It's a divider…"

Marcus didn't say anything or nod, but simply looked at her, understanding.

"But…" he said at last, "What should I do then? If I'm having these hallucinations and having voices talk to me, what should I do?"

Gerin sighed. It was obviously way out of her expertise.

"Well… I think you should just have a positive outlook on life. Just remain happy and find the things and people you care about, and stick by them. That can only have a positive outcome… but I believe your already doing that, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting different since I first met you in that hospital. When you were there, you were scared and distrustful… but now, you seem to be getting for confident. Indeed, the debriefing I received from North Korea…"

Marcus shrugged sheepishly.

"You challenged Shockwave?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, sort of…"

"With nothing but a polished spear?"

"It did help…"

"And at the attack on HARP HQ, you did the same thing to Thundercracker."

"I really didn't like him."

Gerin sighed. "Marcus, do you have any idea how dangerous that is? You could have died."

"But I didn't."

"You can only keep saying that until the day you can't say anything at all. And on that day, you will have performed a very selfish act."

"How?"

"Before rushing into battle or doing anything else as stupid, you have to think of _others_, not yourself. You and Stacy have been friends for years; how will she cope if you weren't with her anymore? The world won't bend to your whim Marcus; the hero only wins in fiction. What makes you think you'll ever come out on top?"

"Well, I just want to help!" Marcus argued, "And when I went after Shockwave, I was thinking of others; Optimus and the Autobots. And when I attacked Thundercracker, it was the same thing!"

"Marcus, have you ever thought the Autobots aren't worth saving?"

"B-But how can you say that?"

"Do you think they've saved Earth out of the goodness of their hearts, or have they done it out of a need for a home?"

"Either way, they've saved Earth!"

"You still don't understand; they are just like humans, if not more so. This means they can betray, they can massacre and they can ignore."

"Well… I don't think Optimus Prime would ever do something like that," Marcus replied, "The other Autobots, maybe, but Optimus is something else."

Gerin nodded and smiled. "I believe you are right there. Optimus is one of the most courageous people I've ever met, even if he is a bit thick-headed because of it… but at least I know he would never give up in pursuing what he thought was right."

"So that's a good thing?"

"Depends on what you're pursuing…" she murmured mystically, scribbling on her notepad.

"Marcus, I would like to ask you three hypothetical questions; you may answer them however you wish as there is no wrong answer. Are you alright with that?"

"Sure."

"You see Stacy in danger; it is obvious she will die unless the danger is neutralised. But the danger is beyond your skill to defeat and interfering would likely result in your futile death. What do you do?"

"I would charge in anyway; I'd try and save her, no matter what."

Gerin scribbled on her notepad again.

"Earth is in danger from Optimus Prime and his Autobots. They are committing acts of genocide. What do you do?"

Marcus smiled slightly, knowing that Optimus would never do that. "I… would stay out of his way."

"Elaborate."

"I would hide from them and make no attempt to fight back; somewhere in the mountains or desert."

Gerin scribbled.

"Final question: Your mother appears and asks you to come with her, leaving your life with HARP and your friends. What do you do?"

This question caught Marcus off-guard. He looked to Gerin, who stared expectantly back.

_Mother…_

"I… I don't know…"

"Is it a hard decision?"

"Y-Yes. I remember my mother… she looked so kind and thoughtful."

"Your decision?"

"I… don't know. I don't know what I'd do."

Gerin clicked the end of her pen and said, "I guess it's time to wrap this up then; are you feeling ill at all?"

"No."

"No physical changes?"

"No."

"Any hallucinations beside the Decepticons?"

"Um… well…"

"Just trust me Marcus; I am here to help."

"I… sometimes see something that looks like a child… but isn't. It's strange… I can't say what it is but it's dark… and angry."

Gerin looked at him hard, slowly, rhythmically clicking the pen.

"And… I saw a coyote out in the desert."

"It could have been real," Gerin replied, "Or a mirage."

"It spoke to me."

There was silence.

Marcus licked his lips. "I-I don't remember what it said… it just seemed quite old and… sad."

There was more silence after that. Gerin held the pen to her lips, thinking hard.

"I think we'd best leave it there… I'll contact you again when another session can be arranged."

Marcus nodded and headed for the door, but remembered his manners when he reached it.

"Thank you, Miss Rahb," he said politely.

Gerin gave another smile. "Oh don't be so uptight Marcus; my friends call me Gerin."

Marcus felt his throat well up. He blushed, nodded and almost sprinted out the room.

Gerin would have smiled if she hadn't been so worried.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Do we think she suspects?<strong>_

_**Of course she does; but it's whether or not she can accumulate that knowledge and sleuth her way into realising the truth that matters.**_

_**Anyone could find out the truth… she's just foolish.**_

_**None of it matters now; the only two who can put paid to our predictions are the boy and Harbinger.**_

_**And although we can keep our eyes on the boy, Harbinger is a completely different matter. It is the only thing that can threaten us.**_

_**That, and the boy's resistance.**_

_**Death is always an option.**_

_**We are not yet ready to give in… we must play this as our prediction prophesises.**_

_**The boy will die?**_

_**Yes. The boy will die.**_

* * *

><p>He felt the soil. The grass and the dirt. He felt it under his body and through his fingertips.<p>

He hated it.

He curled his hands into fists, soil dragged with it, and ground them in his hands. In a rage, he sat up onto his knees and punched the ground repeatedly, each fist into the Earth a sign of his hate for it. He roared and punched, mud and dirt splashing everywhere. His yellow body turned brown and black, the metal stained with earth.

When Bumblebee had let out his anger, he looked up at the sky.

It was completely grey, streaked with silver. The clouds had rolled in.

_This planet… are only innocent insects the ones doomed to die? And why did it have to be Sam… the one who least deserved to die at the hands of those creeps… and why, when Optimus always makes the right decision, are we punished for it? Not one victory, not one more Pillar… nothing but the dead mark where we tread. The dead of both sides…_

A drop of water hit his cheek. Several more rained down, coating his face and his body, the water cool. It washed the dirt off and reflected what little light off his skin.

_And now… out here… on this planet filled with nothing but gloom and despair, I have nothing to suck away the memories… memories of loss…_

_Loss…_

He got to his feet, completely soaked, his optics blurred. He was on the edge of a forest of pines and spruces, the mountain at his back.

_And now I journey onwards to investigate some trace energon readings… no doubt some Decepticon plan that will claim my life… fine then, let's see them try and take it._

He wandered into the shadowy forest, in the midst of a downpour.

* * *

><p>"FUCK!" the general roared, his face turning beetroot, "ABSOLUTELY NUTS!"<p>

"As much as the guy's a twat," Epps whispered to Lennox, "He's completely right."

Mason and most of the other HARP personnel sat in a hangar at Nellis Air Force Base, their temporary HQ until planes could be allocated to take them to Diego Garcia. They were all looking at several TV sets, each one broadcasting the same scene.

"_And so,"_ the judge on the televisions said, at the head of large, round table, _"Due to lack of evidence and witnesses, Akil Farrah is found innocent of his crimes against the country of Audi Sarabia and the United States of America…"_

"BULL!" Mason shouted and turned towards the hangar exit in a rage.

No-one paid him any attention, continually watching The Hague with growing resentment.

"What is going on?" Mirage asked, angry and confused, "He isn't innocent! We were all there!"

"Unfortunately, as HARP is filled with aliens, there aren't many people outside of America who really trust us," Lennox answered, "Plus, we never actually saw him involved…"

"Ryder overheard him!" Mirage argued, "He would testify!"

"We're not even supposed to have a child in HARP," Lennox muttered, "And the judge wouldn't take the word of one as insane and… difficult, as him."

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Lieutenant Robertson said, standing up, "But I'm all for going back to that bloody desert and kicking his ass all over again!"

There were murmurs of agreement, but everyone was too angry to shout their support.

"Count me in then," Ryder replied, approaching from another part of the hangar, "I wouldn't mind having another crack at his skull."

"I don't even understand the deal with this guy," Mirage argued, "We should be moving to counter whatever plans the Decepticons have, instead of wasting our time with this insect."

"Listen, Mirage," Robertson said angrily, "I don't know if Megatron ever committed genocide on your species, but this guy has done it to ours; so have a little respect before you speak."

"I don't need to listen to you," Mirage dismissed, annoyed, "As your race seems content to let these mass-murderers get away with it."

"Well at least we have a system," Robertson spat, "Look where yours has brought your race!"

"Then tell me," Mirage snarled, approaching Robertson, "Why you have to beg us to fix your problems?"

"Stop it, guys," Lennox said tersely.

"Oh, and you've really fixed the problems haven't you?" Robertson snapped.

Mirage snarled and almost leapt at Robertson, but was pulled back by a quick-thinking Ratchet, who was joined by Sideswipe. Robertson angrily tried to charge Mirage as well, but Epps put paid to that.

"Sit your ass down, Lieutenant!" Epps nearly shouted, before adding, "Sir!"

Robertson sighed and sat down, but made no move to argue against his insubordinate Staff-Sergeant.

"Great," Lennox sighed, looking at Robertson, "Now we're fighting among ourselves. You two can't just skip a round, can you? Now I know that tensions are running high with our move and the recent conflicts, but can we at least make it to Diego Garcia without anyone getting crushed by friendly fire?"

"Sorry colonel," Robertson said, "I was out of line and stupid. It won't happen again."

"I know it won't—" Lennox replied, but was cut off by General Mason's arrival.

"Saddle up ladies!" he cried from the hangar entrance, "The planes are here; get ready for a twenty-three hour flight!"

"You know," Epps muttered, "I wouldn't mind crushing him with friendly fire."

"Stop!" Lennox laughed as they packed up.

* * *

><p>The trees cast darkness over him, the rain filling the shafts of grim light. It was a forest from a nightmare, the trees all cramped and dark, the rotting bark and thick branches blocking the clouds from sight, with no discernible path. The twigs snapped underfoot, but other than that, there was not a sound. All animals fled before his path and the birds had vanished at his outcry. For all intents and purposes, this place was dead.<p>

But Bumblebee could smell the dew on the bark, see the photosynthesis happening within every leaf, feel the tiny bugs wriggle under every step. This was a place filled with organic life, but organic life that did not respond nor understand. Bumblebee shivered at it, the very idea of this form of life repulsing him, when at a time before, he would've welcomed it. But he pushed on, snapping the branches and trampling the ground, trying to locate the source of what worried Optimus Prime.

Along the way, he mused to himself.

_Should we die protecting these humans? I know that Sam and those who knew him were innocent of anything, but what of the rest of this race? It seems that the young are the only innocent, before they become too evil or too dumb… and then what do they become? Mature? Respected? Rulers?_

_And is this place our home? Optimus has called it that many times, but… is it really? Or are we just unwanted guests? Or just useful tools? Is that what the cybertronian race has been reduced to? Pets and tools, for use and entertainment by tiny little creatures… insects whose minds are too big for their heads…_

_But Sam and Lennox and others do believe that we can call this home… so why must we continue to fight? The Allspark, the Matrix, the Solar Harvester… they are all gone, so what is left? We just collect the Pillars to avoid the final battle, it's that obvious… none of us, even the Decepticons, really want the final battle to ever happen, lest the result be not what they wanted. And all the while it rains… this water, dropping from the sky. Although I am thankful it is not the acidic rain of Cybertron's past, this is… dull. Dispirited. Grim and dour… like our war. Will anything be accomplished from it…? Or will it end with every last one of us dead…?_

He stopped.

He had arrived at a clearing. Or, more accurately, something _had _cleared through it. Something had smashed through the forest, cutting through the trees and churning up the dirt, continuing on further into the forest.

Something had crash-landed.

_A wounded Decepticon? Another Autobot? Or is it something else…?_

He broke into a jog, following the aftermath.

* * *

><p>Randall Irving's fingers danced along the keyboard, in almost rhythmic harmony. He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, frowning at what he was seeing. It was an email, sent to him:<p>

_Subject: Your lost staffs_

_Listen Randall; I have to say, this shit's getting freaky._

_We've dubbed the stiff from South America NBE-27 (Although I do believe Astrotrain is that, screw it; the records are incomplete anyway). Now although NBE-27 (and his head) were brought back from Lima International Airport pretty good, there were problems with his staff. Apparently, the two parts of the stick would mess up the electronics and glow in a weird way. They eventually decided to transport it via boat, under the supervision of HARP Lieutenant Timothy Dalton. The log books at the harbour-master's office at San Diego bay shows the ship docked in two weeks ago… and yet the staff never turned up at Hangar 18 or HARP HQ. Now this is where it gets really weird…_

_The electronic log book here says that the staff _was_ checked in and should be here. But one question to the boffs and they just shake their heads; no staff has come through. So the questions are this: did the staff ever get on that boat? Or did it disappear on the journey from San Diego to here? Or did it arrive at Hangar 18, but has since been moved?_

_Listen, I can't help you anymore from here; if you want to find this staff, I'd suggest you go find this Timothy Dalton. He's not here, that much I can tell you._

_And about your request into The Fallen's staff… I can't help you with that one. It's not here and no-one knows where it is. From what I can gather, it seems to have been incinerated along with his corpse. That, or it's locked up in some warehouse somewhere in Cleveland. Or Ohio. Or Utah. There's just no more clues._

_Find Dalton. That's the only thing I can think of._

_Sgt Frederick Reynolds_

Irving quickly tapped out a reply.

_Listen Fred, keep this to yourself; I smell a rat. I don't like any of this, especially as I know that The Fallen's staff _wasn't _incinerated. Admiral Morshower had ordered it be investigated, as did I; if these things can teleport people, we may not have to waste our time with these huge Pillars. So find out who did the clear-up on the Egypt scenario. After you give me those findings, lay low for a while… I think at least one person in this Human/Autobot alliance isn't exactly loyal. Hopefully, it's just a ghost in the machine._

_I'll find Dalton though. Thanks for the tip._

_Irving_

But as Irving looked up in the directories for Dalton's location, he received a surprising reply.

_You and I go way back Randall. So be careful around this._

_Oh yeah, and whatever's going on, it might just be a ghost in the machine. Or it could be Soundwave, robbing us blind and then telling our computers that we're ok. But then again, what's the difference between the two?_

_Fred_

* * *

><p>Soundwave saw him leave the moon, watching him shiver as he passed Starscream's position.<p>

He saw him float through space, neither hurrying nor relaxed. He was nervous.

He watched him approach, Soundwave confused about why he was here and what he wanted.

Eventually, Deadlift arrived beside him, keeping up the pace as Soundwave drifted in the orbit.

"Uh, Soundwave?"

"Deadlift, if you have come to ask for advice on why you should remain in the Decepticon army, I will kill you."

Deadlift gulped and shook, but did not turn away.

"Uh, well, I was, you know, wondering about something…"

"What?"

"Um, well, what's going on?"

"Elaborate. Do you want to know the average temperature of the Ural Mountains over the past ten years or of the four concurrent traffic accidents happening in Tuscany?"

"Uh, no, I was just wondering when we'll next attack."

Soundwave sighed. Another idiot.

"Unknown at this moment. I am currently watching an event in Oregon, America, but apart from that, there is nothing to report. Leave me in peace."

"Oh, well, uh, one last thing…"

"Spit it out," Soundwave snapped and Deadlift jumped. Which is an impressive act considering that he was floating.

"Well, uh, what's the nearest city to the Autobot HQ?"

"You mean HARP HQ?"

"Um, yeah."

"Which one; the current one or the one Starscream foolishly wrecked?"

"Uh, the wrecked one."

"Las Vegas. It is one of the more despicable human settlements… why would you want to know?"

"No reason!" Deadlift yipped, "Just, you know, planning and stuff, tactical advances and all that shit."

Soundwave frowned, but Deadlift was already floating away as fast as he could.

* * *

><p>As he walked over the last rise, he found where the object from space had finally stopped.<p>

Covered in dirt, mud and burnt wood was the form of a cybertronian. But thanks to the sheer amount of fauna he had picked up in his landing, Bumblebee couldn't tell who it was.

But if it was an Autobot, then…

Bumblebee rushed over to the figure, to check if he was still alive. As it turned out, he had been forced into a rather violent stasis lock. Wiping the flotsam and jetsam from the figure's face, even then Bumblebee couldn't tell who it was.

"You're gonna be alright," Bumblebee told the unhearing arrival.

"Incorrect," came a voice from behind.

Bumblebee turned around towards the rise.

Streaked against the grey clouds stood the silhouette of the last Decepticon Bumblebee wanted to see. Four red optics glowed in the gloom, his body a mass of black and white metal, twisted and evil. His mouth was filled teeth that could chew through titanium and, if need be, the armour of a foe.

Barricade stood, unsmiling, and stared at Bumblebee.

"Just the guy I wanted to see," Bumblebee snarled, curling his hands into fists.

"Spare me your insolence," Barricade snarled back, "And I might spare you."

"You're not here for me?"

"Correct; I want to recover the new arrival and plug him for information," Barricade answered, "Soundwave has neither the time nor patience to chase after asteroids, even if they are of our kind. He called me up. It looks like our mutual friend incorrectly calculated the Earth's gravity and rotation speed. An almost fatal error."

"So is he Autobot or Decepticon?" Bumblebee growled.

"Does it matter?"

"I can't see why it doesn't."

"Whether or not he is Autobot or Decepticon," Barricade spat, "He is coming with me."

"Over my dead body," Bumblebee snarled, readying his arm cannon.

"Oh, I've been waiting to oblige," Barricade uttered with unmatched menace. He leapt into the air, just as Bumblebee raised the cannon and fired.

The shot flew under and Barricade dropped out of the air like a thunderbolt, smashing into the ground in front of Bumblebee, spraying him with mud. He brought up an uppercut to Bee's chest, knocking him back, but the slaughter was just beginning. Barricade timed an unstoppable right hook, smashing it into Bee's head, metal shards flying everywhere, before following it up with an overhand punch that knocked out his left optic and landing a knee to his chest, destroying an adamantine rib.

Bumblebee fell back into the mud, gazing up out of a dizzy optic.

Barricade let a flail hang loose at his side, his gaze as if steel itself.

"What a waste," he spat contemptuously, "In your mourning for the insect boy, you have grown weak and feeble… you're not even worth the challenge. But I have to kill you; our rivalry has to end and I must continue to prove my loyalty to Lord Megatron. Bumblebee, you had… potential."

The flail shook in anticipation as Barricade moved in for the kill.

* * *

><p>"Done," Ryder said in triumph, dropping an open laptop on General Mason's desk.<p>

They were on board a massive C-5 transport craft, carrying most of HARP's personnel as it flew over the Atlantic. Mason had had a desk bolted into the floor to help with the boatload of paperwork he had to accomplish.

The General looked up from his papers. He was not amused.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Do you remember when you bet me a hundred bucks I couldn't find Soundwave in ten days?" Ryder asked, "Well, you won."

He put a hundred dollar bill on Mason's desk.

"The bastard was smarter than expected. So it took me a month."

Mason frowned. "Is this some sort of a joke, Ryder?" he asked, "Because I am not amused."

Ryder remained impassive, his sunglasses betraying nothing. Mason looked at the screen on the open laptop.

It showed one word. Well, not really a word, more of a jumbled mess.

_FATHER-89122-OW_

"And what might this be?" Mason asked, frowning.

"A US spy satellite located over twenty-two thousand miles above Taiwan. It does an orbit that used to include HARP HQ until, you know, HARP HQ was wiped out."

"Your point being…?"

"Soundwave's been butt-fucking it for at least a year," Ryder answered, "Literally. He's attached to it."

Mason frowned harder. "You do realise how completely stupid that sounds? The boys at NASA would be able to tell when a pebble ricochets off of one of their satellites… how did you even find out about this?"

"I hacked into the NSA's space division."

"Y-You hacked into the NSA's network?"

Ryder shrugged. "Find the dots, join them up."

Mason scowled. "You're a walking security risk, Ryder, and I trust you in about the same way I trust my ex-wife."

"Let me guess; she took the house?"

"And the dog."

"What a shame," Ryder lied, "Well, if you don't believe me, I'll just have my hundred bucks back."

"Actually…" Mason hesitated, "I'll investigate this claim… and keep the money."

"Well whatever you do, do it fast," Ryder told him, "If I was in your position, I'd knock that thing out with a missile before Soundwave gets wind of our information and ghosts."

"Thank you," Mason muttered through gritted teeth, "I will investigate this lead."

Ryder gave a smile that caused inevitable bubbling rage, before the teenager quickly turned and left.

* * *

><p>"It is time…" Barricade intoned, knocking Bumblebee back into the rain-swept mud. The Autobot cast his gaze up, half-defiant, half-beaten.<p>

"…To put you to sleep," Barricade snarled, punting Bumblebee in the head. Shards of metal splintered the blackened trees as the sky darkened with rolling thunder.

"A sleep from which you will…" Barricade panted with fatigue, grabbing Bumblebee by the neck and forcing him to his feet. The rain splashed upon their skin, the heavens opening up.

"…WAKE UP DEAD!" Barricade roared, smashing Bumblebee into a tree. His hand closed on Bumblebee's throat, his blood-red optics watching the Autobot gurgle and splutter. His grip tightened and Bumblebee's body turned rigid, his throat in agony, the rain splashing upon his face, almost blind from the mud and water.

"If it's any consolation," Barricade muttered as Bumblebee's power reserves dwindled, "Out of honour for your skill, I will bury you. Maybe I'll do it before you die…"

Bumblebee felt his life ebb away, his spark barely powering. The grip on his throat began to crush. He felt his thorax snapping like wire.

All of a sudden, Barricade's back exploded. Fire consumed them both and the Decepticon howled in pain. He was sucked into the fire and water, something pulling him into the rain and mud.

He cast his gaze around, only for his left hand to explode, his razor-sharp claws flying in all directions, splitting the branches above. The forest seemed to be on fire, with Barricade having to roll out of the way of a falling pine tree. He cast his gaze around, the wind and rain whipping his face, the fire ascending up trees, a blazing inferno having been conjured upon the forest.

And through it all, he saw a silhouette in the raging firestorm. And it was holding a huge rifle.

Before he could roll out of the way, a slug smashed into the left side of Barricade's face, tearing out two of his optics. He roared in pain and let loose a dozen missiles in the direction of the shadow. The forest exploded as lightning arced across the sky.

And like a lightning bolt itself, the silhouette streaked out of the sky and slammed into the ground in front of Barricade. Mud and wood were thrown up in a shockwave, smashing into Barricade. He raised his hands to deflect the incoming blows. It didn't help.

The new arrival was like a ghost, weaving in and out of the darkness, landing punch after punch on the Decepticon as the burning forest raged around them.

Bumblebee staggered to his knees, watching the chaos around him as if he was viewing a film… it didn't seem real, as if he couldn't believe he was actually here. It was terrifying.

Barricade was forced back towards the edge of a hill, a stream several meters below. Barricade knew what was coming, but was unable to stop the raging insanity that was about to engulf him.

The shadow stepped back from the wounded Decepticon and splayed his arms out, as if calling on reinforcements. A strange suction sound seemed to emanate from the silhouette, and the fire and water that raged around them were drawn to the shadow as if magnetised. The mix of elements seemed to build up inside the figure and, all of a sudden, there was total silence and total darkness.

And then the figure unleashed the building chaos.

A mix of fire, air and water exploded outwards from the shadow, heading straight towards Barricade. The conflagration impacted upon him with the force of a nuclear explosion, the entire thing sounding like the roar of a ferocious giant.

Barricade was picked up by the explosion and dropped over the rise, his enflamed body smashing into the stream far below. He didn't move.

The figure didn't even bother to check whether or not Barricade had survived. He turned and walked towards where Bumblebee knelt in the churned mud.

Bumblebee looked up at the darkened figure. With a shock, he saw it was the cybertronian who had crash-landed. He gaped, waiting for the figure to speak.

"I expected… so much more," the figure said, his voice young but sad.

Bumblebee didn't answer.

"I have travelled so far and for so long… the empty voices of the cosmos, the only company I held… and as I passed through a thousand systems, their stars like embers in the blackest nights, I gave up any hope of finding our race, my friends…

"But then a new voice drifted through space, one filled with vigour and righteousness… the voice of a forgotten leader… promising a home where we would be safe. I travelled for many meta-cycles, uncountable in their number… and when I finally reach the planet I could call home… I shuddered with pure happiness.

"It looked so beautiful from up there, filled with life and filled with beauty… this was my home… but of course, it had been a long time since I was forced to fly against force and I… misjudged my descent. But in the darkness, I knew that I had arrived… at a place I could call peace, a place I could forget about war, about tyranny, about that bastard Starscream and his haunting proclamation… but when I awake…

"I hear the sounds of battle, the sounds of horror. And I know that this is paradise lost…" the figure intoned, looking down at Bumblebee, "But have I not deserved my peace? Have I not deserved my freedom? Have I not deserved my home… my escape…?"

"Wh-Who are you?" Bumblebee gasped.

The figure stared at Bumblebee with resignation.

"My name… it has been so long since I needed a name… but I remember! I am Silverbolt; pure, strong and fast! In the annals of history I was Optimus Prime's air commander… and now, I am nothing. I was unable to protect my own men… I was unable to stop the ascension chaos. For Cybertron is in ruin and yet still the war rages… for what? Tell me this, Bumblebee; what is it we fight for? For this world, a beauty tarnished by the corruption that spreads upon it, by both man and machine? For the Autobots, who toil in battles innumerable, who fail to survive in this grim future? Or is it for the monkeys who build and waste, violent and primitive, whose good attributes are far outweighed by the destruction they cause? Tell me this, Bumblebee; will this war ever end?"

Bumblebee felt the rain continue to splash on his face, turning his head to the storm. Even though no liquid passed from his optics, he could not tell the rain from tears.

"I… no, it won't," he said, grieving, "This war will never end… unless we are all dead."

Silverbolt looked up to the sky.

"And now I wish I never found this doomed garden," he whispered, "Because now, I must choose a side… a side that will force my death. And yet again, it must be with the Autobots, for whom I have lost all respect and likeness for… but I believe anything is better than joining with the Decepticons. So let this be so… I will join with the Autobots, for better or for worse, to pray for the coming cycles and prepare for the coming battles…"

But Bumblebee wasn't listening. Indeed, he wasn't sure if he had heard a word of what Silverbolt had said.

_Have I learned anything? Sam cannot be brought back, not by the power of Primus, or by any of the human gods… and that is that. So why am I still in mourning, when I must channel these emotions into destroying those hated Decepticons… _

_Or is that it? Does this war never end, because we think of nothing but hate… or is it something more, something closer to our hearts, that conveys our hate…?_

He did not know, and he never would.

* * *

><p>"You know what?" Ruination spat angrily, "I'm done with you! You're as thick as a plug socket! I'm leaving!"<p>

The Decepticon turned from Space Case, alternated, and shot into the dark of the moon.

Space Case, all alone, turned towards Earth.

That planet. That ugly planet. Filled with its disgusting inhabitants.

"I-I don't mean to be dumb," he said to himself, "I-It's not like I want to… I have dreams, like any other creature… dreams of glory, of conquest, of… happiness. So why does everyone turn me away, like some sort of junk? I can fight! I can change! I can win! I can ruin that blasted rock!"

Jabbering like a madman, he stamped his foot into the ground in rage.

"I am Space Case!" he cried at the night, "I can do what I want and I can say what I want! I can destroy anyone, no matter their size or strength! I have dreams! I have dreams of ruling, of betrayal, of… respect. So why am I ignored, like worthless tin? I can escape! I can create! I can destroy! I can rule that blasted rock!"

He had forced himself into a rage, a rage that no-one else would ever hear.

"I HAVE DREAMS!" he roared with intolerance, "THAT NO-ONE ELSE CAN DISPUTE! ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL SEE THAT I AM NOT JUST A PAWN, THAT I AM SPACE CASE! I HAVE DREAMS OF PEACE, OF UNITY, OF FREEDOM! I AM NOT SELFISH, NOR DUMB; I. AM. ME!"

With his energy depleted from his proclamation at the stars, the timid Decepticon fell backwards into the lunar dust. He looked up again at the Earth.

He realised how very small he was.

And no matter how much he raged, he could not change that.

But he promised to himself, deep inside, that he would do everything he said one day…

One day…


	13. Powerslave Part 1

Although it wasn't my intention, I'm going to have to split this episode into two parts, for two reasons: one, I'm a lazy bastard and two, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thank you **Answerthecall**, **Megan666**, **Lone Wolf **for your reviews, and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

* * *

><p>Three cars roared through the desert, bristling with guns and profanity, blaring with curses and loud music.<p>

"_Seems like a touch (touch too much)!_" roared the hard rock from the green NASCAR car, "_You know it's much too much (much too much)! I really wanna feel ya (touch too much)! Girl, you know you're giving me (much too much)! Seems like a touch—!"_

"Shut up!" roared the red one, Leadfoot, "That sounds like absolute shit!"

The green one, Roadbuster, put down the driver's window. A human head appeared.

"You shut up!" roared the human, "Or I'll put so many holes in your ass, you'll be leaking electrical shit for a month!"

As Roadbuster and the blue one, Topspin, roared with laughter, Leadfoot dropped an oil slick in the middle of the sandy road.

Roadbuster rolled right over it.

"You idiot!" the human laughed, "You can't slip on oil when you're driving on _sand_!"

As Roadbuster and Topspin continued to roar with laughter, Leadfoot attacked in a different kind of way. Opening his hood and engine, the air was suddenly filled with smelly methane. Although the two other Wreckers weren't affected, the human rolled up his window, coughing.

"Take that, you filthy insect!" Leadfoot belched.

Inside of Roadbuster, with rock'n'roll pumping through the huge speakers and rattling the windows, the human grinned.

"Knock him off the road mate," Sergeant Ricky 'Recon' Hart ordered.

Hidden within his machinations, Roadbuster smiled as well.

* * *

><p>"Now look at what you two 'ave done!" Topspin growled, looking at the ditch in which Leadfoot and Roadbuster were attempting to alternate out of.<p>

Eventually, Sgt Recon fell into the sand as Roadbuster stood up. He groaned and stretched his back, his spine cracking.

"At least that crap music's over," Leadfoot muttered, struggling to match his weight with the speed of his alternation, and promptly falling back into the ditch.

"Well at least we have music!" Recon spat, "You must like listening to a laptop whir!"

"Enough with the insults, ladies!" Topspin belted, "I've just received new orders from Optimus Prime; we're not heading to HARP Jordan!"

"Then where the hell are we goin'?" Roadbuster asked.

Topspin growled then, obviously annoyed with something. "Do you guys remember Akil Farrah?"

"Who?" Leadfoot yelled, slowly and steadily getting to his feet.

"You have the memory processor of a fish," Topspin chided, "Don't you remember Akil Farrah? Evil dictator overlord?"

"In Audi Sarabia?" Recon remembered, "I wasn't there; you assholes left me back at the base."

"I remember," Roadbuster spat, "I thought we threw his ass behind bars?"

"Yeah, we did," Topspin growled, "And some idiots let him out. And now he's coming back."

"So what are our orders?" Leadfoot belched.

"Optimus says that we need to keep an eye on him," Topspin said, "But as Optimus and I go way back, I know what he really means."

"What's that?" asked Recon.

"We're gonna waste the bastard as soon as he touches down!" Topspin roared, "He threw a tank battalion at us; he deserves everything that's coming at him! No-one disrespects the Wreckers!"

Roadbuster and Leadfoot nodded, but then they both turned to Recon. He shrugged.

"The guy does sound like a piece of shit," he agreed, "We might as well ice the fucker."

A few minutes later, the three profane Autobots and the even more profane human were heading south, with murder on their minds.

"_Rock'n'Roll train (running it right off the tracks!)"_

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

><p><span>Episode 13: Powerslave<span>

_Turn the spotlights on the people  
>Switch the dial and eat the worm<br>Take your chances, kill the engine  
>Drop your bombs and let it burn<em>

—**Back in the Village**

* * *

><p>Farrah sighed with pleasure as he drank from the champagne glass. He gazed out the airplane window, a satisfied smirk on his face.<p>

Always place faith in your race. Even if they're trying to hang you; blood runs thicker than energon.

_Unfortunately_, he noted, annoyed, _That's all about to change._

At one time, Farrah would've considered this his private plane. After all, when a plane has a bar, lounge and cabaret club, while also being a personal gift from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, it would seem pretty private to anyone. But such an aeroplane loses all sense of privacy, when you are forced to share with aliens.

On one of the pristine seats, Laserbeak tore up the leather in agitation, not used to being in the air while not actually flying himself. Outside, the much larger Buzzsaw flew in escort of the plane, protecting against any external threats.

_Although_, Farrah noted dryly, _Maybe he's just there to shoot me down if I leap out with a parachute. That is, if Laserbeak __somehow__ let me get a parachute…_

With grim realisation, Farrah knew he was completely owned by Soundwave. Indeed, he was quite worried in why he already hadn't been taken to some warehouse and had the location of his Pillar tortured out of him. That piece of technology, he realised, was the only thing keeping him alive.

_Maybe Soundwave just wants to keep me alive because I'm useful, _he hoped, _…Or maybe because it amuses him._

He sighed, the champagne turning bitter in his mouth.

"What's the plan?" he asked.

"I was wondering when you would ask," Laserbeak spat, "When we arrive at Mekka's airport, you will then be escorted by three more of our agents to your palace. They will keep an eye on you while you… reclaim your lost influence. When you have complete control of your country again, you will honour your side of the bargain and finally hand over our Pillar."

Farrah nodded. "But what of the Autobots… you guys live a long time, and I'm sure two months of me being in a disgusting cell won't exactly qualify as retribution."

Laserbeak gave a low, menacing chuckle, a sound Akil Farrah found he didn't want to ever hear again. "You still don't get it, do you?" Laserbeak chuckled, "You are the centre of the current political climate, not just on Earth, but on the moon as well. Soundwave knows that the Autobots would likely rise to your reappearance, so he is marshalling all the forces he can barter off Lord Megatron to prepare for the coming battle."

"Battle?"

"Your very life is the catalyst that will launch another bloody conflict within your country, and it is likely up to you on how it will pan out: If the Decepticons win, you will get to keep your country, and when we later take over the world, you can claim a continent. But if the Autobots win, you'll just end up with a bullet in your back."

"So I pull my forces into helping you?"

"Soundwave has it all worked out; his forces and your army should be able to destroy the Autobots. Once that is accomplished, you hand over the Pillar, and you stay on top."

Farrah shrugged and got up. "One thing I don't understand though," he said, "Is why still use me? I mean why give me this chance… and the bonuses, when you can use someone else?"

Laserbeak grimaced at the thought of the young boy and girl in the master bedroom. Although he himself was a psychotic individual, he still couldn't wrap his head around some of the disgusting biological properties of the human race. Or their needs.

"It is because that humanity has made you important; your trial was rather negatively received, as was its decision. As you are now an important player on the global stage, you are important in Soundwave's eyes."

Farrah gave one of his knowing smiles, relief flooding through him. "An important player… and a player I am," he muttered with a sleazy grin, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

He laughed inside at Laserbeak's reaction, before retiring to the en-suite bedroom.

_I'm already a crazed genocidal maniac… what's a couple of children 'inbetween'?_

* * *

><p>It was a solemn ceremony, Optimus's leaving. It had also been quick.<p>

Although he was only heading to a different continent, it felt as if he were heading to another planet… and never coming back.

"It's nuts," Lennox said, looking up at a battle-brother, "That pig-headed ass needs to get his head out of his backside and realise we're fighting a war."

"Roger that," Epps agreed.

Although Optimus hadn't fully recovered from his injuries, he was walking again. That said, he looked older than ever before and his optics were misty.

"No," he said morosely, "I made several decisions and we got nothing out of it,"—he looked over at where Arcee was standing—"Except losses."

"It wasn't your fault," Lennox reprimanded, "It was Shockwave. It was the Decepticons. It was the enemy… you didn't kill Chromia, they did. Don't ever forget that."

Optimus nodded. "Thank you, William," he said, but deep down, he wasn't sure he meant it.

Next up were the Autobots. That is, the three that had showed up. Bumblebee, Mirage and Blazemaster had declined to see him off, still angry over decision, while the new arrival, Silverbolt, was being interviewed by Gerin and some others, to see if he really was loyal to their cause.

"Goodbye, Optimus," Arcee said, "This all a load of bullshit."

"Agreed," Sideswipe replied, "You better come back, boss."

Optimus nodded his thanks, and as they left, he turned to Ratchet.

"Don't worry, Optimus," Ratchet told him with a smile, "I'll make sure Mirage and the rest don't get out of hand."

"Indeed," Optimus replied, "They worry me more than the Decepticons; Ratchet, you must keep order around here."

"I will," Ratchet promised, and Optimus knew that his soldiers were under good command.

"And don't ever forget why we fight."

Ratchet gave a puzzled frown, but it cleared almost immediately.

As the sun began to set in the west, Optimus boarded the cargo plane as it began its journey, escorted by fighter jets.

And as the light dimmed, it took off into the sky and disappeared into the dusk.

* * *

><p>But as one plane rose, another landed.<p>

While night fell on America, the sun shone bright over Audi Sarabia. And Farrah's plane taxied into a heavily protected hangar.

As he got onto the steps leading down, the hangar became illuminated by camera flashes, as newspaper journalists from around the world pictured his triumphant return to home and power.

As he descended, so did the questions.

"Mr Farrah, are you happy to be back in your home country—?"

"President Farrah, there are reports of rebel groups gathering all over Audi Sarabia—"

"Mr Farrah, is it true you were working with the Decepticons?"

The last question caught him off-guard. He knew it shouldn't have, as even oppressed people have cameras and can easily walk about during a battle. But he still stopped.

"_Ignore them_," came a voice in his earpiece, "_Get to the vehicles._"

He knew, that somewhere in the rafters above, Laserbeak waited and watched.

And, contrary to orders, he turned to the reporter who had asked the question and stared straight at her camera.

"I'm afraid that it is true," Farrah admitted with all the humility of a child who has been caught with his hands in the cookie jar, "And I am incredibly sorry for the mistake I made… but being in a foreign land, a prisoner of the world, watched through the eyes of the court… it made me realise something. It made me realise how people really view me… as a monster. And, maybe, I was… but no longer! I will become a ruler of peace and prosperity… to usher in a golden age of freedom and equality! The past's mistakes will be eradicated and I will bring about a new era… one of liberty and justice! And now, at the eve of my return, my first act is to invite the Autobots to my beautiful country; I wish to bring peace and understanding to them, to admit which side of their race is in the right… and to bring humble apology to any offences I caused them. And although I offer this invitation with the most humility I can offer, I can only hope they will accept it."

With his speech delivered, he ducked into a waiting two-door sports car as the questions pestered him with furious revival.

"_That was an idiotic risk you took. We may have to terminate you._"

"Don't worry about it," Farrah dismissed, "It may help you in future."

"_Either way, you are under our protection now._"

It was at this point that Farrah noticed that there was no driver.

"Uh… let me guess," he said to thin air, "You're a Decepticon, right?"

"Name's Breakdown," replied the two-door sports car, "And with the window's blacked out, no-one is none the wiser that there's only one of you inside of me."

"Which means that no-one's going to raise a finger wherever we go?"

"Exactly. So it's up to you… the palace, or a sepulchre?"

Farrah shivered. "So is it just you, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw?"

"The armoured vehicles in front and behind are Scrapper and Gunbarrel. We'll also be shadowed by a motorcycle named Reverb. Ratbat, Ravage and Skystalker are on standby."

"That's a lot of Decepticons for a simple escort."

"This escort isn't simple. The sepulchre it is then?"

"N-No! The Palace… please."

The three vehicles, consisting of two armoured transports and a pale-blue sports car, trundled from the airfield.

Meanwhile, a red motorcycle watched from a distance, its holographic driver putting on a helmet.

_Let's get this show on the road…_

* * *

><p>"So… who's this Silverbolt guy?" Stacy asked.<p>

"I remember him," Blazemaster nodded, "He was the leader of the Aerialbots, the top flyers of Cybertron… well, on the Autobot side anyway. He was an arrogant, boastful, idiot."

"He doesn't look boastful," Stacy observed, looking to where Silverbolt had shrank into a corner.

"That's because him and his best friend, Stormshot, were captured by the Decepticons during the war. Namely, Starscream and his gang."

Stacy looked up in surprise. "What happened?" she asked.

"I'm not sure for certain," Blazemaster muttered, "All I know is that they were both tortured, Silverbolt survived and Stormshot was killed. And then Silverbolt disappeared."

"They were… tortured?" Stacy said with a shiver, "By Starscream?"

"Yes."

Stacy frowned. "When I was with him, Starscream didn't seem the type to… torture people."

Blazemaster scowled. "I don't know what he told you, Stacy," he said angrily, "But most of it was probably downright Decepticon lies."

"So Cybertron never had a sun?"

"Oh. Well that bit was true then…"

"And that the Autobots stole the Allspark?"

"Only so that—"

"And that they flung it into space?"

"Listen Stacy," Blazemaster warned, "You've got to realise, that the Decepticons are evil. Right down to their core. You can never trust them and you can never side with them. They've wanted to either wipe out your race or dominate it."

"Yeah, but that's Megatron isn't it? Starscream just seemed… lonely. And lost."

"Don't sympathize with him," Blazemaster chided, "He's a killer… and the Starscream I remember was arrogant and merciless."

"But people can change, can't they?" Stacy asked with innocence and naivety in her eyes, "Surely, that's the only way the war can end?"

Blazemaster frowned. But this wasn't a condescending frown; this was a confused frown.

"Well, maybe… maybe…"

Stacy looked at where Silverbolt tried to hide from the world.

"And he… he looks so sad."

Blazemaster nodded, but said no more.

* * *

><p>"You know this Akil Farrah?" Marcus asked.<p>

Ryder stopped cleaning ELLIPSIS and looked up.

"Well… yes."

"Do you like him?"

Ryder shrugged. He continued to clean the rifle.

"Because, I was just wondering… if you have no morals, can you ever like someone for what they do?"

"Ah, you've actually put some thought into something," Ryder observed, "Feel free to pat yourself on the back."

"I'm serious."

"I know. And that's the funny thing, you see…"

"What's funny?"

"Being serious."

"How's it funny?"

"Because it involves morals. And morals are silly."

"…So how's it serious?"

"It isn't. It's funny."

"But you said—"

"But you know what's not as serious as morals," Ryder interrupted knowledgably, "But is as funny; confusion."

"Eh?"

"Why do you think it's still about morals?"

"Are you joking?"

"No. I'm being serious."

"About what?"

"MORALS. Keep up, will you?"

"But you said it was silly!"

"No. I said it was funny."

"Then what's silly?"

"Taking things seriously."

Marcus stopped talking then and looked at Ryder hard. The older boy went back to cleaning his rifle.

"What are you talking about?" he asked carefully.

"Rifle cleaning. Seeing as there is neither bullet nor explosion from this rifle, why should I clean it?"

"I-I thought we were talking about Akil Farrah!"

"No. We were talking about morals."

"Are you taking this seriously?"

"It's about morals and confusion; what do you think?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"Then my job is done," Ryder said triumphantly, standing up and walking away.

And Marcus was left in utter confusion. But he had to admit, it was a very clean rifle.

* * *

><p>Farrah looked about him.<p>

For all intents and purposes, he was a prisoner. Held hostage by an alien faction and forced to do their bidding was what pretty much qualified as a prisoner. But there was one certainty he knew to always trust upon; everything, no matter your creed, colour, religion, environment etc., _everything _depended on your point of view.

For example, at first glance, he quickly surmised he was in a convoy that held him prisoner from which there was no escape.

But as they travelled down the dirt-ridden streets and several rocks bounced off the other two Decepticons from angry pedestrians, he realised the truth. Well a version of it.

He was completely safe from harm. Nothing could attack him here; he was being escorted, and he wouldn't be harmed at all. What could be viewed as a prison, could be viewed as… security.

This illusion was shattered only minutes later.

For starters, Gunbarrel exploded. No-one, especially him, saw it coming. One minute he was following Breakdown's tailgate, and the next, kaboom.

Farrah looked behind him and saw three NASCAR cars racing past the burning wreckage. They looked pissed. And he knew why.

"THE AUTOBOTS!" he screeched.

Breakdown sped up, as Scrapper transformed in front of them. Armoured plating folded inwards, while rivets turned and twisted and opened up, just as Breakdown passed by. He stood up and charged the Wreckers.

"Knock this arsehole off the road!" roared Recon, and the Wreckers obliged.

Topspin transformed, leaping into the air and launching a kick at Scrapper's face. But the larger Decepticon battered him away, just as Leadfoot smashed into his ankles. The Decepticon toppled over, quickly trying to scramble away from the two Wreckers. Roadbuster roared past, intent on taking out Breakdown and his frightened passenger.

"SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT!" roared both Recon and Farrah in unison.

As missiles sped from Breakdown's rear-end, machineguns blazed on Roadbuster's back. He swerved to avoid the incoming ballistics, while trying to lock onto his target. Shell casings smacked into the dusty street, the two cars racing down streets, explosions following in their wake. Civilians on the side-lines were torn apart.

"STOP!" cried Farrah, "THOSE ARE MY VOTERS!"

"You get voters?" Breakdown laughed.

Farrah didn't answer as the street behind him exploded. They swerved round a corner and Farrah yelled.

"THERE'S A BIKE!"

"Don't worry," Breakdown chuckled, "That's a good friend."

A red and black bike sped towards Breakdown and, at the last second, leapt over him towards Roadbuster.

Reverb transformed in mid-air into a horrible bug-like shape and landed on the Wrecker.

"Let's open you _upppppppppp_!" screeched Reverb, several surgical lasers appearing in many bug-like arms.

Sgt Recon appeared at the window. He held a Sabot Launcher.

"What'cho looking at, insect?" Reverb spat.

"I could say the same thing, fuckface," Recon replied, firing a shot into Reverb's chest. It exploded and Reverb fell back, screaming, underneath Roadbuster. Recon heard a satisfying crunch and felt a satisfying bump.

"One bug—squashed!" he yelled triumphantly.

But this was not the case. Reverb quickly leapt to his feet, looked down the street, and sent half a dozen missiles straight towards Roadbuster's exhaust.

"Ah, shit!" Roadbuster cried, as the missiles impacted upon and around him.

He tumbled over and over, smashing into a store. He didn't move.

Reverb crawled closer, anticipating the kill.

* * *

><p>The phone rang out like a siren through the house.<p>

Lennox groaned and felt his hand stumble over the bedside cabinet. Beside him, Sarah shifted in her sleep, and he angrily noted that Annabelle might wake. He grasped the phone and brought it to his ear.

"Who is it?" he whispered angrily.

"Colonel, get your ass down here," Mason ordered, "We've got a situation."

Lennox thought about making something up, about a sudden illness or injury: he never got enough time with his family as he did and you could only cheat death a number of times…

"I'm coming," he muttered. But he knew he couldn't rest while Earth was in danger. His Earth. Currently being invaded as he lay there, and no-one else was going to fight back… so it was up to them. And they looked up to him…

He got out of bed and quickly dressed into uniform. He turned and left the room, not wasting time kissing Sarah goodbye. She needed her sleep, and she would understand anyway… she seemed to understand too much nowadays.

But dealing with little Annabelle in the middle of the corridor was a different matter.

"Daddy?" she said, looking up at her father, "Are you going again?"

"Afraid so, kid," replied Lennox, a sad smile on his face, "It's my job."

"With the aliens?" Annabelle asked, her face filled with innocent curiosity.

Lennox nodded, picking her up and taking her into her room. He laid her on the small bed.

"Daddy?" she asked groggily, her eyelids closing, "Why are you fighting?"

"Because I need to help protect you and everyone else."

"But you said that it's wrong to fight…"

"There are fights that need to be fought, kid. Because some people just don't want peace… they're ignorant and greedy and need to be stopped… for the good of everyone."

But Annabelle wasn't listening; she was already far away from the world, in a place where everyone smiled and was kind to her… because then she was happy…

* * *

><p>"<em>Soundwave, they're gearing up down here!<em>" said Fearswoop, from far below, his canter barely a whisper.

"I am well aware of this," Soundwave replied, "It is all part of the plan. What isn't part of the plan is the interruption posed by the current Autobots in Mekka. Luckily, they are few in number and even fewer in brain cells; they shall be terminated shortly."

"_The Wreckers?_"

"The fools are acting on impulse; I can tailor this quite well thanks to Farrah's misstep… the man may be too cunning for his own good."

"_Some might say you are as well,_" came a snigger from Diego Garcia.

"Fearswoop, do you even wish to be rescued?"

"_As far as I'm aware, I'm already booked. You owe me!_"

"For what?"

"_For giving you the low-down on that Marcus kid, the insect that can find the Pillars!_"

Soundwave sighed. As much as conversation with Fearswoop slightly amused him, he had matters to perform elsewhere.

"Listen to me Fearswoop; I already knew about the boy."

"_Oh yeah, you can listen in, can't you…_"

"No; their jamming technology has proved resistant enough to keep me out since I came back online."

"…_Then how did you know?_"

And then Soundwave said something that almost seemed to echo around the atmosphere of planet Earth.

"Ever since HARP was founded, I have had a mole in their ranks."

* * *

><p>Roadbuster's optics slowly opened. He groaned at the pain that shivered all around his body.<p>

Reverb crouched over him, his hideous face leering and spiteful. Distorted and warped shards of metal protruded from his body, razor-sharp and cunning. His optics possessed nothing but cruel intentions and malicious practises. Roadbuster quickly realised that this was a Decepticon that did not care for the war or its sides; here was a cybertronian who just wanted to inflict pain and destroy everything.

"Calm down now," Reverb muttered in a voice that wasn't calming in the least, "This'll be over soon. But if you scream, then I may just draw it out longer…"

Roadbuster tried to crawl away, but Reverb pinned him down with several skeletal arms, his leering mess of a face pressed into his.

"Now I don't like taking lives," Reverb whispered, "It's just that inflicting pain is something I'm good at… so I hope you're going to enjoy this, as much as I will."

Roadbuster spat in the Decepticon's face, the oil trickling down the twisted cheek.

"Now that wasn't very nice," snarled Reverb, "So, from now on, I'm going to—"

Reverb screamed as something exploded on his back. He whirled around, the flames mirrored on his face for less than a second, staring hatefully at his attacker.

Recon stood in the wrecked street, the Sabot Launcher in firm grip. He looked at Reverb out of racing goggles, a look of anger etched into his features.

"Get. Off. Him." he ordered.

Reverb obeyed; though not out of submission, but out of a hungry interest in the arrogant insect.

"Human," Reverb spat, "You challenge me? How ignorant."

Recon raised the launcher again and fired another shot, but Reverb saw this one coming and leapt out of the way, the round exploding in the wrecked street further down.

"You don't stand a chance!" proclaimed Reverb, scuttling towards the tiny human, "Why not just—"

Roadbuster slammed into him, knocking the smaller Decepticon into the opposite side of the street, banging his head against a wall. Reverb bit and clawed like a rabid dog, doing everything he could to escape Roadbuster's hold.

"He was… working with Decepticons!" Roadbuster shouted, "Get… him!"

Recon nodded, knowing exactly what his Autobot buddy meant, and raced down the street in where he thought Farrah had gone.

Roadbuster slammed Reverb's head into the wall, mashing up an already hideous face.

"FOOL!" Reverb cried, raking Roadbuster's optics with a twisted claw, "You work with disgusting insects! They are worse than us! They will turn on you and wipe you all out!"

"SHUT UP!" snarled Roadbuster, kneeing the Decepticon in what could be assumed was the main body. He then brought another knee up into his face, knocking out several blunted teeth.

Then the wall exploded.

Leadfoot and Scrapper rolled around in the rubble and dirt, each one trying to get one over the other. Although Scrapper was larger and tougher, one of his arms was an incredibly long flail that proved absolutely useless in a ground battle. Roadbuster and Reverb leapt out of the way, saw who it was, and then went back to scrapping.

"Where's Topspin?" Leadfoot roared, sucker-punching Scrapper.

"How the fuck would I know?" Roadbuster yelled back as Reverb chased him down with manic intensity.

Their question was shortly answered, as Topspin dive-bombed Skystalker from out of nowhere. He then proceeded to pummel the dazed Decepticon.

"We'd better hurry up!" he roared, "I saw a whole mass of 'cons headin' our way!"

Scrapper picked up the heavy Leadfoot by one leg and, with all of his might, threw him into the devastated store which Roadbuster and Reverb had previously infested. He dropped the savage end of his flail to the ground and prepared to give it a downward strike on the defenceless Autobot. He flung the end of the flail into the air preparing for the final, fatal attack…

But Topspin, quickly seeing his friend about to die, broke off from his beating of Skystalker and shot a missile into Scrapper's back. The Decepticon roared and fell to his knees, just as Skystalker rallied and smashed Topspin in the mouth.

But as Scrapper attempted to get back to his feet, the flail end fell. It smashed into his head, cracking the metal and splitting his face. He fell back to his knees and looked up, to see Leadfoot charging him.

The rotund Autobot managed to get enough speed to place his punch straight through Scrapper's chest, punching through his armour and knocking his spark straight out his back. Scrapper keeled over, dead, the life leaving his optics.

"Score one!" Leadfoot belted as a shadow crossed over his face.

He looked up. Ratbat and Buzzsaw descended.

"Aw, nuts," he belched, "'ere comes the air cav!"

* * *

><p>Gerin stepped out onto the balcony above the command centre on Diego Garcia. She looked around her at the beautiful island.<p>

At first glance, it just looked like a military airfield. It held several hangars, jet fighters, an aircraft control centre etc. But look closer and you might've seen the camouflaged SAM launchers, missile pods, AA guns, 24-hour army personnel and 4,000 magnetic sea mines located around the island. The only way in or out was by flight, and if you weren't HARP personnel or attached to them, you could expect a very short welcome; one that involved a plunge into the Indian Ocean.

It was, indeed, impregnable.

But the world wasn't; tensions were still tight in the Korean Peninsula and there was apparently a battle raging in Audi Sarabia just as she stood there. The Autobots and the humans were gearing up for another trip into the desert, although with Optimus gone, Gerin knew that things wouldn't ever be the same again. For one, the Autobots had lost a key part of their force, for as much as Optimus's tactical decisions could be faulted, his fighting prowess could not.

The Decepticons were descending on Audi Sarabia. And if Akil Farrah's speech was to be believed, the evil dictator had nothing to do with it. But Gerin didn't buy it; she had spent years working out who was keeping secrets and who wasn't, and Akil Farrah certainly had something to hide. It didn't matter either way; the Autobots were moving in for round 2 in Audi Sarabia.

And this time, she believed, someone was going to land the knockout punch.

As she contemplated, she saw light appear in one of the hangars.

The light of the Pillars.

* * *

><p>For the second time in recent history, Barricade awoke on Flatline's table.<p>

But unlike last time, he could hear the busy workings of many Decepticons roaming around the ship.

Finding he still had a mouth, Barricade asked: "What's going on?"

He heard Flatline give his distinctively haunting chuckle. "There's a Soundwave production going on, so you can guess a lot of grunts are going to die and a certain commander is going to be as far away from the battle as possible."

Barricade attempted to get up, but found he had no legs.

"I'm guessing you can't reattach my limbs in time for the battle, can you?"

"Barricade, I don't run a hospital," Flatline said impatiently, "I have much more important work to do then patch you up every time you get in here… the next time you're injured, you stay injured."

Barricade slumped back, defeated for now.

"Who's going?"

"Bludgeon seems to be rounding up who he can; apparently, Soundwave's giving out energon to those that kill the Autobots: I've seen Sonar, Overload, Brimstone, Ruination… Pit, even Scavenger is moving out!"

"Scavenger's finally getting off his rusty hide? I'll be surprised if even a single Autobot makes it out alive."

"Don't forget what happened to Demolisher!"

"Demolisher was slow and stupid. It was only a matter of time. Scavenger's a whole different type of beast…"

* * *

><p>"Am I coming?"<p>

Ratchet turned and looked at Silverbolt, who stood humbly, awaiting command. Ratchet looked uncomfortable.

"Your mental state is one of… instability," Ratchet said plainly, "I cannot trust you with this operation, especially as it's so close to your arrival… I'm sorry, but you must remain here at the base."

"I understand," Silverbolt nodded, "But if I can be of assistance, do not hesitate to inquire my service."

"Of course," Ratchet hurriedly muttered, before turning to the rest.

"Everyone, I know that I am no Optimus," he told the waiting humans and Autobots, "And I know that, really, I am not suited for leadership, less so war. But you need to do the best you can… and defeat the Decepticons that now threaten our home. So let's not waste any more time with words: Let's go!"

The soldiers of HARP roared their support and headed straight towards the light of the Pillars.

One after another, they disappeared into the ancient and unknown teleportation technology, vanishing into the strange yet beautiful light.

When it eventually became dark again, Marcus turned to Stacy.

"I think we should have gone with them," he said.

"Why have you become so gung-ho recently?" Stacy sighed, "We've got enough trouble with Ryder around…"

But as she tried to locate the subject of the point she was trying to make, she found she couldn't.

"You've got to be kidding me…" she muttered.

"Oh no, he ain't," Fearswoop cackled, "Even though you things are sweaty little bugs, that kid's got bearings of chrome steel."

* * *

><p>And far above the Earth, as the Autobots left for the desert, several shapes left the Moon.<p>

Soundwave watched the world below out of cunning eyes. He saw the Rub' al Khali, each rolling sand dune, each Bedouin camp, each abandoned ghost town. He cast his gaze north-west and saw the city of Mekka. He saw every living soul, knew their families, friends, lives, secrets… he saw it all. Nothing was hidden from him, including the arriving Autobots.

"Wipe them out," he intoned, "All of them."

Comets streaked past him, each one's fiery descent heralding the arrival of something altogether evil and violent. They headed to Earth, burning through the atmosphere, hungry for energon and blood.

Soundwave watched them go with sickening satisfaction.

_Little Autobots, your time has come at last… as much as your foolishness was amusing at first, I'm afraid the games must end… may wounds be inflicted in both body and mind that you can never recover from…_

The Decepticons burned through the atmosphere, like a shower of hate.

* * *

><p>Sideswipe launched himself at Ratbat as he came out of the Pillars light. The other Autobots followed suit, blades and weapons appearing at their arms, artillery streaming towards the already huge battle. Lennox and his soldiers followed after them.<p>

"Robertson, take the right side, Epps; left!" he roared, "The rest of you, with me!"

Buzzsaw turned from his tormenting of Topspin and swooped down, lasers streaming from his eyes into the street. The ground exploded, with Lennox having to duck out of the way. Mirage appeared from out of thin air and grabbed Buzzsaw by each wing. Squawking furiously, Buzzsaw and his attached enemy crashed into the dusty street. Arcee charged, knocking the slightly larger Reverb off Roadbuster. They scrapped, Arcee digging her serrated sword into Reverb's gut. The rescued Wreckers quickly fell back to the friendly part of the street. None had escaped injury.

"Who are you?" Lennox asked a man in biker clothes.

"Sergeant Ricky Hart, sir!" Recon told him, "Attached to HARP Arab Emirates! My mates call me Recon!"

"What's the situation, sergeant?" Lennox shouted over the din of battle, as they got behind some rubble for cover.

"Farrah's definitely working with Decepticons!" Recon yelled, "The Wreckers have confirmed kills on Scrapper and Gunbarrel and we've confirmed several more Decepticon appearances; Reverb, Breakdown and some of Soundwave's fucking animals!"

"Alright; how'd you guys get involved in this?"

"Uh…" Recon muttered. And then, surprisingly, he leapt out of cover and rushed towards the battle.

"Sergeant!" Lennox roared after him, but Recon was already getting stuck in.

"LET'S GO!" the colonel cried, "LET'S GET THEM!"

* * *

><p>HARP charged down the street, weapons blazing.<p>

"There's a lot of Autobots!" Skystalker cried worriedly from behind a ruined building, missiles and laser screaming past.

"So what?" Reverb spat, launching a few missiles round another building towards the assembled HARP soldiers.

"We're going to need support, that's what!" Skystalker roared, "We're going to die otherwise!"

He saw Buzzsaw and Ratbat pick themselves up and flee into the sky, obviously not happy with the odds either.

"Hey!" Reverb shouted after them, "Damn cowards!"

"Soundwave's ordering his pets out," Skystalker mumbled unhappily, "You cover me; I'm going to call for help!"

"_Help'__s on the way,_" came a voice in his ear.

"Breakdown!" Skystalker cried, pissed, "Where the hell are you?"

"_Doing my job; protecting that slimy human. As for you…__ look to the skies._"

Skystalker looked up, and saw the descending Decepticons.

* * *

><p>"Uh, Optimus!" Blazemaster called, "Oh—Ratchet!"<p>

"What is it?" Ratchet asked as he checked up on Topspin's injuries.

"We got Decepticons from above!"

As he said that, Hightower smashing into a nearby mosque, completely demolishing it and its inhabitants. At the same time, another Decepticon named Overload destroyed another nearby building with his impact. They were only the first.

"Ratchet," Bumblebee murmured, "They are landing to surround us… if we stay any longer, we risk being outflanked."

"Yeah!" Arcee shouted, sending a missile down towards Reverb's position, who ducked out of the way just in time, "Orders, boss?"

Ratchet sighed. He wasn't cut out for this and he knew it.

_They all depend on me… depend on the leader…_

"We fall back!" he cried, "We retreat from the city!"

Most of HARP turned in shock, humans included.

"We're running?" Mirage asked, beginning to get angry.

"We need to set up a forward base first," Ratchet told them, "We came here to get the Wreckers out of trouble; we don't need to fight the Decepticons. Blazemaster, get up there and plot us a route out of here!"

Blazemaster nodded and transformed, while Lennox rounded everyone up.

"What about the Decepticons?" Mirage argued, "We can't just let them get away!"

"While Akil Farrah remains, so will they," Ratchet countered, "And we're only leaving so that we may prepare a counter-attack."

This seemed to calm Mirage down a bit, but one person was still unhappy.

"Utter bull!" Recon roared, "Fuck getting out of here; I ain't leaving until I've blown Reverb's head off!"

"Sergeant, you will obey the chain-of-command!" Epps shouted at him, "Now I know some people want to stay and fight, but I highly doubt any of you want to stay and DIE!"

"Listen guys!" Blazemaster shouted from up in the sky, "The clearest path out is to charge straight past the Decepticons!"

Ratchet looked down at the puny human.

"We don't have time to waste," he told them all, "Get in one of us and we'll drive you out of here!"

The Autobots all followed orders and alternated, with the humans getting into the nearest vehicle.

Comets smashed into the streets around them.

"Let's go!" Ratchet roared and the Autobots charged straight down the street.

* * *

><p>"Shit!" Skystalker cried, "They're charging us!"<p>

"LEAP!" Reverb cried.

They quickly leapt to the roofs of the buildings they were hiding behind, barely dodging the missiles that preceded the rapidly approaching Autobots.

They flattened themselves on the roofs, the Autobots roaring past.

It wasn't long before the Decepticons arrived as well.

"What in Primus's name are you doing, hiding?" Overload spat, scuttling along the roofs on several spider-like legs.

"We were, uh… waiting!" Skystalker rallied, "For orders!"

"Here's your orders," muttered a voice behind him.

Skystalker turned, and that was when he got slugged in the face so hard, an optic broke and he was immediately forced into stasis lock. Reverb turned as well, and jumped with both shock and fright.

"Li-Lieutenant Bludgeon!" he cried fearfully.

The skull-like mask of a face Bludgeon wore did little to hide the flames of utter malevolence he had for optics. They were the sort of optics that could not only pierce your soul but tear it apart and shit all over it. Added to that fact was a reputation as being one of the meanest fighters in cybertronian history and a vicious streak several hundred miles wide. When he wasn't busy practising the ancient fighting art of Metallikato, he was torturing cybertronians at his leisure; it didn't matter if they were Autobot or Decepticon. If Shockwave was the one Decepticon you feared, then Bludgeon was the one Decepticon you were absolutely terrified of.

He promptly punched Reverb as well, this time in the gut, with enough force to break through his chest, smash his spine to pieces, and have his fist come out the other side, coated with energon.

He let the insect-like Decepticon fall to the ground, leaving him twitching and gurgling.

"Overload, contact Mixmaster," Bludgeon growled, "See if he'll evacuate these two creatures and put them in Flatline's infirmary."

"Of course, sir," Overload replied.

Bludgeon looked from his position on the roof to see the dust contrails of the fleeing Autobots. He growled like a rabid bear.

"DECEPTICONS!" he roared over the city, "TEAR. THEM. APART!"

* * *

><p>The Wreckers, being the most heavily-armed, lead the convoy of fleeing Autobots.<p>

"Oh scrap," Blazemaster cried from up high, "We've got Sonar and Rampage coming from the east, while Brimstone and Mindwipe come from the north."

"West!" Ratchet shouted at the Wreckers in front, who responded by power-sliding round the next corner.

"Ratchet, human aircraft are taking off! Military!" Blazemaster shouted down.

Ratchet felt something drop in his gut. This was not good. They could only be taking off for one reason…

"Don't engage," he told everyone, "Blazemaster, use your flares if they attack."

They raced down sandy alleys and dirty avenues, people screaming and rushing out of their way to escape their inexorable race. Any cars in their way were knocked aside.

"Grr… sorry Ratchet, but Hightower's heading your way! It's the only way out!"

"Don't worry Blazemaster… I think we can dodge past him…"

"I don't know about that… he takes up the whole street!"

That's when the colossal Hightower came round the corner. He was one of the oddest shaped Decepticons in their faction, using two massive treads on leg-like appendages to roll right over any Autobot stupid enough to get in his way. His upper body consisted of a block of metal with a head connected, surrounded by a web of metal girders. Coming out of the back of said torso was a huge claw that would pick up entire buildings if they could withstand the pressure; he also had two arms, each as long as a school, one holding a wrecking the ball the size of a garage.

The Autobots charged him. Due to his size, he wasn't travelling down the street, rather, he was crushing the houses on each side of the street.

"Through his legs!" Ratchet cried.

"Nutmeg the bastard!" Roadbuster roared.

Hightower roared, shaking the foundations of the buildings that were still standing, and brought the huge wrecking ball down. It smashed into the ground with the force of a small earthquake, throwing the Autobots a few feet into the air. But they slipped to the left and right of the destructive object before meeting behind it, driving in-between Hightower's huge treads.

The Decepticon roared, unable to turn in the confines of the devastated street. The Autobots shot past him, raced over the debris of Hightower's wake, and powered down one last street.

"Blazemaster!" Ratchet roared, "It's a dead end!"

"The desert waits behind that building!" Blazemaster cried, "It's not a dead end when you can make the end yourself!"

Ratchet gritted his metaphorical teeth. This could either go right, or very wrong.

"Wreckers; raze that building!"

Although other Autobots would have questioned that order for a number of reasons, the Wreckers weren't like other Autobots. Being asked to wreck stuff was part of the job description and what they did in their free-time anyway.

"Hold onto your butts!" Leadfoot belted, and the three Wreckers let loose a barrage of missiles and bullets, sending them into the building at the end of the line.

It exploded in a mass of rubble, dust and fire. It exploded outwards, the Autobots smashing through the wreckage and ruin, plaster and rock smashing off their armour. The foundations collapsed in on them, but they continued to power through, crushing it all underfoot, eventually breaking out the other side…

Nothing but sand rolled out before them.

"Into the desert!" Ratchet roared.

The mad mix of vehicles shot across the sandy dunes, the sun setting in front of them.

"You're clear!" Blazemaster cried with relief, "The Decepticons aren't moving out of the city and the human jets are just circling the wreckage!"

Ratchet sighed with relief. There were several whoops and cheers from the other vehicles.

"This ain't over, is it?" Bumblebee asked.

"No…" Ratchet admitted, "I think this is where it begins."

They travelled through the desert, on the run, as the stars shone out above them.


	14. Powerslave Part 2

Happy new year, everybody! And because it's a special occaision, I present to you a specially long chapter!

Thank you, **Answerthecall**, for yet another review! :)

(For all those interested, check out my Christmas party on my profile! XD)

* * *

><p>"It pains my heart to say this," Farrah cried out from his balcony on the front of his palace, "But we have been betrayed!"<p>

The crowd thronged in the thousands, men, women and children having been forced out to listen to their leader preach. Decepticons lined the square, watching for any sign of dissenters.

"I offered out an olive branch to the Autobots, offered to meet and debate for a better future… but instead, they launched a sneak attack!" Farrah roared with mock horror, "Attacked on my way to the palace; ambushed! Those three… Wreckers, were then escorted out of the city by several other Autobots, although admittedly, Optimus Prime was not among them. But due to this hellacious attack on our city, its people and me, I have had to make a… regrettable, but temporary, alliance with the Decepticons…"

At this there were many angry murmurs. But several growls from the Decepticons silenced them.

"Yes, yes, I know how you feel," Farrah told them all, sweeping his arm, "But the Autobots have fallen back to the hills after their massacre and our army will be unable to deal with them alone… so we must rely on the Decepticons and Commander Bludgeon to protect our city!"

People turned to look at the Decepticon pointed out by Akil Farrah, before turning away out of terror. His skull-mask glared, but did not acknowledge his audience.

"So for now… I reluctantly order martial law!" Farrah cried with resolution, "There will be a curfew at nine o'clock for every night that the demonic Autobots remain in our proud country! Anyone caught outside their homes after that time will be executed by our protectors… the Decepticons!"

As Akil Farrah grinned like a shark from his position over his people, the Decepticons closed in, silencing any arguments of protest.

"Look at them all," Farrah hissed with malevolent delight, "Like children… no, prisoners. They might as well not have names… they are just statistics. They might as well be numbers. Heh… they are mine. No-one can stop me now… no-one!"

Behind him, Laserbeak simply watched with eyes of evil from the shadows.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 14. Powerslave (Part 2)<span>

_But still we walk into the valley,  
>And others try to kill the inner flame,<br>We're burning brighter than before,  
>I don't have a number, I'M A NAME!<em>

—**Back in Village**

* * *

><p>"YOU UTTER IDIOTS!" Lennox roared with fury unheard of by him, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?"<p>

Recon and the Wreckers stood to attention with guilty faces.

They had made camp within the rocky foothills deep in the desert as the stars shone bright, the Autobots dirty and dusted, the humans bloody and beaten. The rest of HARP watched with disdainful looks at the Wreckers and their human tutor. Lennox didn't often get angry, but when he did, it had good reason.

"NOW THE WORLD ONLY NEEDS TO GIVE THE WORD AND YOU WILL ALL BE THROWN OFF EARTH!" Lennox continued his tirade, "YOU MIGHT AS WELL PACK YOUR BAGS AND WAVE YOUR GOODBYES RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW!"

The Wreckers hung their heads.

"This is all our enemies need," Lennox told them in a softer, yet more disappointed tone of voice, "Our foes in the senate, our enemies overseas, even Akil Farrah, can call for the Autobots' removal! Because of your idiocy, you may not last another week upon our surface."

"And me?" Recon asked.

Lennox looked at Recon with disdain. "SERGEANT, YOU WILL NOT SPEAK OUT OF TURN OR I WILL HAVE YOU KICKED OFF THE PLANET FASTER THAN THE WRECKERS! AM I UNDERSTOOD?"

Recon hung his head. "Yes sir," he said sulkily.

"Sergeant, I'm not even sure you can stay in the army anyway," Lennox sighed, "Your complete disregard for human life, safety and morals, plus your tendency to disobey orders should have you kicked not only out of HARP, but the United States Military as well."

At that, Recon really did hang his head, lost at the thought of finding a job in which he couldn't shoot things. He stepped back a bit.

"B-But… what do we do now sir?" Recon asked with all seriousness.

Lennox sighed again. "It's impossible to leave because our communication gear no longer works—"

"Why not?" Roadbuster asked.

"We're being jammed," Lennox muttered, "By something out there…"

He gestured towards the other darkened foothills. Some of the soldiers shivered.

"We're being watched?" Epps whispered.

"Probably."

"Is it Soundwave?"

"Possibly."

"So what do we do?" asked Bumblebee.

"We fight," Lennox said firmly, "As we're here, we fight and kill kill as many Decepticons as we can and try to bag Farrah as well."

"You mean… he falls under the Fifth Freedom?" Epps asked.

"For someone like him…" Lennox muttered, "I guess so."

* * *

><p>But while the stars looked down upon Lennox and his HARP soldiers, they began to turn their gaze on one of the more veteran soldiers of the alliance that protected Earth.<p>

Optimus Prime arrived at Port Bouet Airport in the Ivory Coast as dusk settled. As his truck form rolled off the plane, he was greeted only by a single jeep with a single female occupant.

"Optimus Prime?" the occupant asked with no hesitation.

"Yes...?" Optimus asked cautiously. He was unaccustomed to this lack of a reception.

"Major Nuka is waiting in another plane," the woman told him, "He wishes to waste no time; there has been a Decepticon sighting in Angola."

Optimus quickly accessed the nearest internet link and quickly located the country in question.

"Angola…" he muttered, "That's near…"

"Zambia," the woman nodded, "The Battle of Victoria Falls. It is also the sight of where several Pillars were used to help bring Cybertron towards Earth."

"Who are you?" Optimus asked.

"We can't waste any more time," the woman told Optimus, starting up the jeep, "Nuka is waiting on the plane."

They drove across the tarmac, dust whipping up at their passing. Optimus felt, for the first time in long ages, calm. The airport had been closed from the public for the night due to his arrival, so there was very little noise. It was just the two vehicles and the disappearing sun. It was strangely relaxing; just to simply manoeuvre across the ground…

He saw the Antonov An-124 Russian cargo plane on the runway before their headlights illuminated it. The back was open, the ramp leading to another venture, deep into the heart of Africa.

"Optimus Prime!" Major Nuka cried happily as the two vehicles drove onto the massive aircraft, "It's good to see you again!"

"Major," Optimus acknowledged, "It has been far too long since we had a global meeting."

"Only a couple of months," Nuka laughed, "But then again, in these times, it does feel like years…"

"What have we got?" the leader of the Autobots asked.

The ramp was raised and the plane began to taxi.

"A couple of girls in the village of Lakosha travelled to the nearby river to fetch drinking water. But after they had gathered their supply, they heard a great roaring in the distance; they travelled along the river to investigate and found a Decepticon."

"Have you contacted HARP Angola?" Optimus asked.

"That's the thing," Nuka sighed, "The girls claim that the Decepticon was roaring at a man in black army uniform… and we've been unable to raise our base there in any form of communication. We sent someone to check it out… and he hasn't reported back either."

The woman sniffed. Optimus turned.

"This is Aaliyah Owusu, who works with the CIIS, our intelligence network down here," Nuka told him, "Her brother was the agent sent to investigate the loss of communication…"

"Are you saying that the Decepticons may have wiped out the base?" Optimus asked.

"Indeed. But this report was filed two weeks ago; we haven't been able to amass an investigative force to find out what's happened, due to the sudden escalation of the civil war here."

"I don't understand," Optimus said with a frown, "What has the civil war got to do with HARP's lack of manpower?"

At this the occupants of the plane became shifty. Nuka gulped.

"Well…" he began, as the pilot told them over the intercom to strap in, "To help with the raging battles up in the north… we've been diverting HARP personnel to help with the fighting there…"

"But… HARP is under the terms of the ETA Treaty of 2011, which specifically state that HARP must not interfere in conflicts outside of those involving Decepticons—"

"Oh, don't be so naïve!" Nuka cried, "Your America may have houses of marble and pieces of paper that can crush lives, but down here in the jungle is reality; this place is dirty and gritty. There is death and rape and children gunning down our soldiers on the front lines! We had no choice! So… for now we must put any… inconsistencies behind us and let us fight some aliens."

Optimus frowned within his cabin. "We all must concentrate on the external foe… you must use words to help sort out the strife within."

"It's not that simple Optimus. It never has been… after all, on Cybertron, was it not the threat within that cost you your home and your lives?"

Optimus sighed.

"I understand… but remember this; if your rebels take over, the country would be plunged into chaos. If the Decepticons take over, the world would be plunged into chaos."

Nuka nodded, showing that he understood as well.

"There's also been reports… well, rumours really, that a Decepticon leads the rebels at this very moment."

This caught Optimus's attention. "Really?"

"It is probably just the imagination of the child soldiers caught… you'd best get some rest; it will take a few hours to get there."

"Believe me, after the journey I just took, I highly doubt I'd ever need rest again."

* * *

><p>"Mwalimu, Riyadh ni alishinda!"<p>

There was no answer.

"Mwalimu…?"

"Silence! I am meditating…"

Silence pervaded the forest.

"Mwalimu? Nini sasa?"

"Foolish child, do you not see the power at work? Do you not see the puppeteers in the shadows? Governments, Transformers, they are nothing! I myself, once a foolish Decepticon, have now hidden myself in this jungle… just to tutor you all on the ways of life, and death."

"Tunajua, mwalimu... lakini nini lazima kifanyike sasa?"

"We must not haste, child... for Harbinger sees all. Have I not explained before, that if I was located, with the knowledge I know, Harbinger would simply destroy me without a thought? Not Megatron, not Optimus, not even narcissistic Soundwave could stop it... they can be killed whenever Harbinger wishes the entertainment to stop. For you see, wars are just games to Harbinger, and the world is the board..."

"Ndiyo, mwalimu... wewe wametuambia kabla ya..."

The forgotten cybertronian watched with curious eyes. If any other Decepticon had heard the insect's tone of voice, the child would have been eviscerated immediately. But this Decepticon had learned to love the little creatures for what they really were; Transformers, wrapped up in sliceable skin.

"But Harbinger has one weakness..."

At this, the child picked up his ears. He had never heard of this before.

"Nini?"

"I will give you a clue as to what it is; you will sometimes see it in a bathroom!"

And with that, the mad Decepticon broke out in riotous laughter.

* * *

><p>"Yes, sir."<p>

Bludgeon closed off communications and looked into the night.

_The Autobot bastards are out there... and their disgusting human allies. They wait in the hills... they wait for us._

"So what are our orders, sir?" Overload asked.

"Soundwave has ordered that we must protect Akil Farrah no matter what," Bludgeon growled, "No-one is to leave the city and no-one is to enter. Is that understood?"

The spider-like Decepticon pouted. "But boss, there are only seven of them..."

Bludgeon struck Overload across the face and sent him crashing into the dusty ground.

"You fool!" Bludgeon shouted, "The Autobots have likely set up a trap in the foothills; we will not simply wander into the dark and be ambushed at their hands! And do not count out the humans... in fact, whenever in battle, never count out the humans; that has been Megatron's mistake on a number of occasions."

"But... sir," Overload mumbled, "It is... likely, that the Autobots neither have the strength nor intelligence to set up an ambush. Plus, we outnumber them 3 to 1!"

"'Likely', you say? Likely does not win wars. Certainties do. No matter how likely our odds are, they are not certain... I have studied the Battle of Mission City and the Battle of Chicago many times and we outnumbered and doubted the Autobots and their powerful allies. They were not certainties... nothing can be. So we will stay and guard the human despot and make as certain as possible that this city cannot be breached. Blockade this nest, demolish the sewers, watch the airfields; and any sightings of Autobots must be reported to me."

"Understood, Lieutenant," Overload replied, "But the city is wide; we will not be able to blockade it properly."

"I will hail Soundwave for more reinforcements, but Hightower should be enough for the southern side; converge the rest on the east, west and north sides. Make sure you take up a position yourself."

"What about Scavenger?"

"He is the reserves... now go! Do not hesitate, or expect execution for desertion."

Overload scuttled away, his insect legs tearing up the barren roads of Mekka.

Bludgeon was one of the few who had survived all the battles thrown at him, including the ones on Earth, through clear, rational thinking. He had survived this far thanks to his intellect and ruthlessness. He had crawled out the wreckage of Philadelphia with only a single leg and half his torso attached to his head. Yet he had survived this far because he knew his enemy. That was all it took. Megatron had learned this lesson the hard way... twice. And now he hid on the Moon, too overcautious to stray from his den, simply making examples of idiots like Starscream to affirm his position of power.

A position that could change in future...

Bludgeon did consider it. But he was smart enough to realise something else as well; 'heavy lies the crown.'

Megatron would find his way into another grave, that was sure enough. And maybe Bludgeon would help him on his way.

* * *

><p>"I have a plan," Ratchet said at last.<p>

The Autobots and the humans gathered round where the Autobot medic had drawn a map. Due to the emergency of their sudden deployment they had been unable to bring any maps of the city; only one of the quick-thinking soldiers had downloaded a map of the country, but it was practically useless for the plan Ratchet had in mind.

Epps looked over the intricate lines in the sand.

"Jeez, Ratchet," he whistled, "You draw this from memory?"

"Indeed," the Autobot replied, "I am sorry that it is utterly inappropriate in comparison to what we must accomplish, but it will have to be satisfactory for our plan."

"What are those?" Epps asked, pointing at several smaller lines within the large map.

"Benches. In the parks. Although one of them you pointed at was a parking meter."

"You did all this from memory?"

"Yes...?"

Epps whistled again.

"So what's the plan?" Lennox asked.

"Right then," Ratchet said in preparation for a long speech, "First, I must brief us on our objectives:

"A Decepticon, or a piece of technology used by such, is jamming all communications within our area. Arcee reports that the Decepticons in the city are moving to blockade the entirety of it, and that they are led by Bludgeon—"

There were several shivers at the mention of that name, not all of them human.

"—And we have no Optimus Prime. Although I do not doubt your ability to fight his grunts, fighting warriors such as Hightower and Bludgeon would be fatal. Actually, upon review, if working in pairs, you might be able to bring down Hightower. But if you come face-to-face with Bludgeon, fall back with much haste."

"We should run away as fast as possible?" Epps asked.

"No. Running implies that you believe there would be a chance of escape; rather, hiding and hoping that he will be distracted is much safer."

"Ah," Epps muttered.

"But we must resume with the briefing; our objectives are as such: Infiltrate the city of Mekka, capture or eliminate Akil Farrah, retreat."

"What about the Decepticons?" Mirage asked.

"I believe that the only reason they are setting up this blockade is to protect Akil Farrah. The only reason I can imagine them doing this, is that Akil Farrah might know of a Pillar, or several. So capture is highly advised if we are to learn of what the Decepticons want. Failing that, we must neutralise him in order to make this journey worthwhile."

"So that's it, is it?" Blazemaster muttered spitefully, "HARP has been reduced to common assassins..."

"Blazemaster, you are wrong," Ratchet told him, "I am no Optimus Prime, but I know this; while that man is in power, the people under him slave and toil away. There are executions in the streets and genocide in the hills. While we allow Akil Farrah to rule under the protection of his Decepticon masters, we are allowing tyranny within our home. That is unacceptable. His death is avoidable however; if we capture him, that would be an undeniable bonus."

Blazemaster nodded his consent.

Ratchet turned back to his map.

_But am I right? Murder is still murder, is it not? No matter the sin, is it forgivable? Even if you kill a monster... are you still in the right? Did Optimus ever have to make these decisions... he must have done..._

"Uh, Ratchet?" Bumblebee asked, concerned, "You still with us?"

"Yes, yes," Ratchet said hastily, "I was just reviewing the plan."

"So what is it?" Sideswipe asked.

Ratchet pointed to the map. "Our opponent is Bludgeon, in command of a large Decepticon force, and Akil Farrah, in command of an even larger human force; although Akil Farrah's psychological profile marks him as an inexperienced commander, Bludgeon is a different matter entirely. We will have to use all our cunning to bring him to heel. Just remember; the only way we'll be able to beat Bludgeon is 3 on 1, and at that, we have to take him by surprise...

"Now here's the plan."

* * *

><p>Muzaffar Kassis walked through the ancestral palace. He noted the marble columns, the arcing ceiling, the paintings on the walls. He walked with purpose, with pride.<p>

Mekka had once been a holy city. It once had mosques that populated hundreds and minarets that stretched to the heavens. But wars and riots had toppled the towers and burned out the faiths that had once proved so popular... it was now dark and disparaged. The ring of aliens hadn't helped either.

_And now Farrah thinks there are toys in the attic,_ Kassis thought, _But I swore loyalty to his father long ago... I'll be damned if I give up on that loyalty now._

He reached the office where Farrah's new secretary worked. It was bad luck if you landed that job; you wouldn't last long without being molested at the hands of your despot boss, or shot in the back by a Decepticon.

He knocked on the door before walking in. His suspicions were confirmed. The new secretary's hair was a mess, her eyes were rimmed red and parts of her clothes were torn.

"W-Who are you?" she asked shakily.

"General Muzaffar Kassis, commander of the 3rd Territorial Army, with orders to see Supreme President Akil Mohammad Farrah."

The secretary nodded and waved a weary hand towards the side door. Muzaffar nodded sympathetically before heading through.

Another desk, much grander, with another person awaited. But Farrah was not weary or tired; he held a smile on his face, his eyes danced with manic fires, he held a gaze of hardened steel. This president looked new... fresh.

The room was also immaculate: Paintings, leather, soft couches, an ivory desk and, strangely unfitting with the room, a large plasma screen TV.

"Ah, general, good to see you again!" Farrah said happily, "You bring your troops along?"

"Fifteen thousand foot soldiers, three hundred tanks, another five hundred assorted armoured vehicles and enough aircraft to black out the sun," Muzaffar replied, "It is nothing compared to my normal command, but it should be enough to wipe out the Autobots who hide in the hills and roam the valleys."

"Good job," Farrah exclaimed, standing up and giving the general a hearty slap on the shoulder.

He turned to the large window that looked over the city. It was early in the morning and the sun was rising, the rooftops shining as if golden. In the distance, Decepticon soldiers gleamed with the reflection of the star.

"What do you think of our protectors?" Farrah asked whimsically.

"Sir?"

"The Decepticons. What do you think of them?"

Muzaffar thought for a few seconds.

"Sir, making deals with the devil have always ended with the dealer ending up in the bowels of hell. These guys are devils in all but name."

"Are you saying they are not to be trusted?" Akil asked in surprise.

"All I know is this," Muzaffar replied, "Blood is thicker than water; and your blood isn't blue."

Farrah considered this, gazing out the window with concentration etched into his face.

"And you Laserbeak?" Farrah asked thin air, "Do you think Muzaffar can be trusted?"

Much to the general's shock, the plasma-screen TV began a metamorphosis, the plastic and metal twisting in on its self to reveal a hideous Decepticon that was vulture in its shape and its personality.

"I believe," Laserbeak intoned with a twisted smile and nasal voice, "That honesty equals loyalty."

"You are not insulted when he compares you to the devil?" Farrah asked.

"I fail to see what is insulting."

Farrah laughed. Laserbeak turned to Muzaffar.

"Have you seen our legions?" it muttered.

"Yes."

"You realise that they are unmatched?"

"It is not the quality of the soldiers that wins wars, but the quality of their commander."

"I assure you, Bludgeon is most formidable."

"Bludgeon? With a name like that, he better be."

Laserbeak watched the general carefully, his red, cunning eyes calculating with logic engines unmatched on Earth.

"Mr President," Muzaffar said, relieved, turning from the Decepticon, "When exactly should my men move out?"

"The Autobots probably won't attack until tonight, or tomorrow, so there's no need to worry—"

"Incorrect," Laserbeak hissed.

"What do you mean?" Farrah asked.

"The Autobots. I've just been informed they're coming."

* * *

><p>"Oh shit, Soundwave!" Mindwipe cried from atop the mountain, "THEY ARE MOVING!"<p>

He whooped as he saw the Autobots roar off their hill, heading south towards Mekka.

"_Pray tell, Mindwipe; what is so exciting about__ the Autobots sudden movements?_"

"It's battle, Soundwave," Mindwipe hissed, "It's the thrill of coming bloodshed and roaring flames! Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!"

"_Brushing up on human literature does not make you __any more significant, Mindwipe._"

"You must feel something, Soundwave!" Mindwipe cried with jubilation, "You must feel the suspense before the storm, the rising power-ah! It feels... it feels like the reason for living! Oh yes, bring on the burning bodies, bring on the fires of war, BRING ON THE SCREAMING OF ANGELS!"

He danced merrily atop the mountain, his jamming signals still bursting strong, as the dust left in wake of the fired up Autobots spiralled into the sky.

* * *

><p>Major Nuka yawned in the driver's seat of Optimus Prime, but not daring to place his feet on the dashboard.<p>

"We almost there?" he asked, trying to keep his eyes open.

"ETA, fifteen minutes, according to the coordinates," replied Optimus.

They were travelling through hilly jungle, the road beaten and overgrown, a convoy of several armoured vehicles with Optimus and the major at the head. The HARP base couldn't be contacted by radio or phone; for all intents and purposes, it wasn't there anymore.

"I see no smoke on the horizon," Optimus intoned, "They could have fought them off."

"Or they've been dead for a long time," Nuka said, playing the pessimist with little remorse, "Either way, I hope we finally get to gun down some of the creatures that threaten my home."

"You're from Angola?" Optimus questioned, surprised.

"Of course not; I am from Africa! All people, whether they speak Swahili or Afrikaans or any other language here are brothers and sisters; this is our land, and we won't let any Decepticon punks take it over!"

Optimus smiled sadly inside. "If only we had thought like you during the war..."

"Pardon?"

"It doesn't matter; we're almost there."

They felt the tension rise... what would they find? A burnt out base with no-one left alive? An empty base, its occupants missing or obliterated? Decepticons, rooting for survivors?"

They turned the last corner.

They saw the base.

"Well," Nuka whistled, "I certainly wasn't expecting this."

* * *

><p>Tanks and armoured vehicles of all shapes and sizes headed towards the northern part of the city, barricades were erected and IEDs were placed.<p>

"Are you Lieutenant Bludgeon?" Muzaffar asked from his command vehicle.

The terrifying Decepticon looked down.

"That I am. Are you General Kassis?"

"That I am. Just tell me where you want my men and I'll position them there."

"Finally, a human that isn't ignorant or arrogant to impede me," Bludgeon growled, "Position a battalion of your tanks near Brimstone on the right; he has enough infantry support. Split twelve companies between Sonar and Rampage; I don't want to see the sand beneath their feet..."

"Sir!" Overload cried, "I see them!"

Everyone, Decepticon and human, turned to look at the sloping hills that led downwards towards Mekka. Nine silhouettes appeared on the slopes.

They were heading straight towards the defensive line.

"Hah!" Overload cried, "The fools; they're tryin' a head on attack! They won't survive the next cycle!"

Bludgeon frowned, as did Muzaffar.

"I know Optimus is not in command," Bludgeon muttered with menace, "But even a child would have thought of a better tactical decision than to rush us head on."

"I suspect a trap," Muzaffar said, "After all, we can see the nine Autobots... but where are the humans?"

"Overload, go with Caltrop and check the west... they might try an approach from the desert."

As the two Decepticons scurried away, Muzaffar frowned even harder.

"There's something off with those vehicles..."

"We have a firing solution, sir," said his lieutenant, "Our tanks are in range."

"Then open fire," Muzaffar told him, "Begin barrage."

The great din of cannon-fire echoed through the city as dozens of tanks opened fire, each one sending a huge shell towards the approaching Autobots in the distance.

The ground opened up at their arrival, spraying sand and dirt everywhere.

The nine vehicles rode straight through it, inexorable in their advance.

"I thought one of them turned into a helicopter..." Muzaffar mused.

"We can alternate between any shape we next scan," Bludgeon told him with a low, cold voice, "Blazemaster must have changed his appearance."

"What, he managed to find another vehicle in the desert?"

"Or he could have scanned one of his friends, so that they were of the same appearance..."

And that's when it clicked for Muzaffar.

"Bludgeon... how many of those vehicles are throwing up dust in their wake?"

The Decepticon frowned.

"Three," he answered with a growl.

"And how many have the sun reflecting off their windows and paint?"

"...Three," he spat, beginning to realise.

"Then how many of those seven vehicles do you think are mirages?"

"Six."

"We've been duped," Muzaffar sighed.

"Send half your soldiers to the south," Bludgeon ordered, enraged, "Meet up with Hightower; do not let a single Autobot enter the city!"

"Yes sir," Muzaffar muttered, before turning to his lieutenant.

"DECEPTICONS!" Bludgeon roared with fury, "OPEN FIRE!"

* * *

><p>"Some of them are moving from the lines!" Mirage called, "I think they've realised we're not all real!"<p>

A shell impacted just a few meters from Sideswipe. He swerved away from the shockwave and kept his wheels spinning over the sand.

"We've got to break through!" he roared, "I ain't giving in!"

Missiles speared their way from the barricades, exploding upon the desert with extreme prejudice, Bumblebee almost diving through the debris of Earth.

"Cut those holograms!" he ordered, "Conserve your power, Mirage, for the battle ahead!"

"I hope they get in in time," Mirage muttered as his four hallucinations of the desert disappeared.

"They will!" Sideswipe roared, "We're almost in range!"

"Let's do this," Bumblebee muttered.

The three sports cars roared towards the city, the desert exploding around them.

* * *

><p>Epps and Lennox peered over the rocks.<p>

"Christ, that dude's big," Epps muttered.

Hightower stood like a monument to death. His hulking, heavy form blocked out the sun from where Lennox and Epps hid. Claws that could crush cars and a wrecking ball that could demolish titanium stretched from his armoured torso. It seemed to be resting; its optics appeared to be turned off.

"We've tackled bigger guys than this," Lennox told his best friend, "Besides, look at his legs; they're sticks."

Epps nodded, before both of them turned back.

Ratchet, Arcee and Blazemaster waited, along with the remaining human forces. They were silent and nervous.

"There's only one of them," Lennox muttered.

"Correction; there's one with the power of five," Epps added.

"Sideswipe reports that some of Farrah's troops are heading this way," Ratchet told them, "If we're going to kill Hightower, we need to do it now."

Everyone else nodded.

"What's our plan of attack?" Arcee asked.

"Well..." Lennox said, "If the Autobots distract him, us humans will get up close and slap some boom-sticks onto that bad boy's legs. When he's down, we destroy him with concentrated fire."

"Distraction?" Arcee questioned, "Hello...? I don't think you noticed, but Hightower doesn't do distractions; you're either annoying him and fast, or you're annoying him and dead."

"Then you best be fast then," Lennox quipped, "Let's go!"

Before the Autobot could bite back, the humans leapt over the rise and ran straight towards Hightower.

"Epps!" Lennox roared, "Split right! Take his left leg!"

Hightower awoke.

The Autobots leapt over the rise as well, roaring, sending laser and missiles into Hightower's face, some of them impacting against the girders of metal that provided some form of limited protection for the hulking Decepticon. But most of them got through, tearing up an already hideous face. He roared and several missile tubes appeared on his back.

"FULL SCALE ATTACK!" he roared and a dozen missiles the size of chimneys launched into the air.

"ARCEE!" Ratchet roared, "TAKE THEM OUT!"

The missiles swung downwards and Arcee aimed upwards. She launched all her missiles up in a blanket of smoke and explosives. The sky tore open with the sheer magnitude of the explosions.

But one of Hightower's missiles got through. It plunged downward like an extinction meteor.

"Aw, scrap," Arcee muttered, before leaping into the air.

She shot upwards, straight towards the missile. Bringing up her serrated blade, she swung it with all her might, splitting the missile up the middle, the explosion enveloping her in flame.

Down below, Hightower roared and swung his wrecking ball towards Ratchet, who dodged out the way and planted a boom-stick on the cable attached to it. As Hightower pulled the wrecking ball back, the cable snapped with the explosion, and the instrument of demolition was sent flying into the city.

Hightower, confused by the sudden loss of his favourite toy, didn't notice the insects scurrying around his legs, dropping as many explosives as they could.

"ALRIGHT!" Lennox cried, "GO GO GO!

They all leapt from the colossal Decepticon, who quickly saw them and attempted to crush them.

"I'LL SQUASH YOU ALL!" he roared with thunder, bringing down a huge fist. But before it could impact upon the defenceless humans, Blazemaster slammed into it, knocking it into the sand.

"EPPS!" Lennox cried, "BLOW IT!"

Epps blew it.

Hightower screamed with pain as he was engulfed in a huge explosion, his track-legs shattered beyond repair. He collapsed in on himself, crumbling into the desert.

When the fire and smoke cleared, he stared up at the Autobots and humans.

"FOUL INSECTS!" he cried, "YOU WILL NOT—"

And it was at that moment Arcee shot down from the sky and embedded her blade in Hightower's head. He screamed once, which quickly degenerated into a gurgle. His optics went dark.

Arcee had turned white from the heat of the explosion. She looked up.

"That guy pissed me off," she muttered.

"Obviously," Lennox nodded, "Good job guys, let's get into—"

But he stopped. They all stopped.

They found themselves surrounded by tanks and infantry, each one pointing a gun at them.

A figure appeared at the top of one of the tanks. He looked quite sad.

"I am General Kassis," Muzaffar told them, "Unless you wish to die, please surrender."

The members of HARP hesitated.

A sports car appeared from behind the tank. It transformed, a smile on its face.

"I believe," Brakedown chuckled, "That it's the end of the line."

"We have no choice..." Ratchet muttered, "Besides, the Wreckers are still out there... and it will get us into the city."

"Fine then," Lennox muttered, before looking up at Brakedown, "We surrender!"

"How wise," Brakedown snarled, "Now get moving."

* * *

><p>The Wreckers charged from the desert. But they were known to be coming.<p>

"It's just the two of us," Overload muttered, "And the three of them."

Caltrop gulped. He was a squat, ugly little Decepticon with a very low standing. Overload didn't expect him to survive the next battle.

"Just remember," Overload snarled, "Shoot straight and hit hard."

The Wreckers gunned it.

"Now..." Overload muttered, "FIRE!"

The two of them launched a barrage of missiles and lasers towards their targets, not slowing in their bombardment. The Wreckers fired back, bullets and missiles screaming through the air as well. Each side's cascade passed the other and exploded upon their intended targets.

Caltrop and Overload managed to doge out the way, using some of the buildings for cover. They managed to escape unscathed. The Wreckers weren't so lucky.

Roadbuster and Topspin managed to weather the barrage, but Leadfoot couldn't A missile from Caltrop smashed into his windscreen and sent the Wrecker into the sky, before crashing him back into the dust.

"You see dat, Overload?" Caltrop whooped, "I got 'im—"

His jubilation was cut short by the removal of his head, via explosion, via a shell from Sgt Recon's sabot launcher. He leaned out of Roadbuster's window, whooping.

"BRING IT!" he roared as the two Wreckers charged the last Decepticon.

Overload grinned and got into a crouched position, preparing to counter the charge. His four spider-like legs tensed.

The Wreckers were just a few meters away. And just as they transformed, Overload leapt at them.

They slammed into each other in mid-air in a whirlwind of metal and energon. They scrapped and tore at each other in a blinding chaos only they could decipher. They slammed into the ground, splitting apart.

The damage was obvious: Roadbuster was missing an arm and several teeth, Topspin's legs were smashed and broken, part of his scalp removed, while Recon was bleeding from a dozen cuts and several broken ribs. Overload was as bad, a leg missing and one of his arms pounded into oblivion. One of his optics was missing from where Recon had bitten it out.

The sergeant spat out the metal instrument and stood up, groaning.

"Come on then, bitch," he muttered, "Time for round 2…"

Overload looked up in alarm. And then he looked further up.

He began to chuckle, spitting out lubricant as he did it. He cackled like a madman.

A shadow was cast over them all. Recon turned around.

"Shit."

Topspin also turned his gaze upwards, to see what was blocking out the sun.

"S-Scavenger!" he gasped with fear.

A mammoth hand reached down to pick him up.

* * *

><p>"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Sideswipe roared as the last Autobots smashed into the line.<p>

They blazed through the human vehicles and tore apart the defenders, an unstoppable frenzy. They smashed through the boundaries, knocked tanks out the way, crashed through buildings.

"Remember, Farrah's the target!" Bumblebee cried, before being engulfed in an explosion.

"Bee!" Sideswipe roared.

And then he was bludgeoned.

Sideswipe, reeling from the blow, alternated and smashed into a building. He groaned and crumpled to the ground. He slowly looked up.

He was in a dusty square. He saw people on the side-lines with wondrous faces, full of curiosity for the battle coming up. And he saw who had hit him.

Bludgeon.

"Sideswipe," Bludgeon acknowledged, "I haven't seen you since the academy."

Sideswipe nodded from his position in the dust.

"Yeah… you taught me yourself."

"And what did I always say?" Bludgeon growled, "Never. Rush. In."

Sideswipe picked himself up and readied his blades.

"You're going to stand and fight?" Bludgeon asked, "Good. You were always my star pupil…"

He pulled a savage mace from his back.

"…It's just a shame," he snarled, "You had disciplinary issues."

"I've learned since then," Sideswipe retorted.

"Then let's find out what you've forgotten!" Bludgeon cried and charged, swinging his mace like a professional.

Sideswipe charged as well, knowing it was a fight he couldn't win.

* * *

><p>"M-Major Nuka!" the young private squeled, "I'll open the gate for you!"<p>

Whatever they had expected, Optimus and co. hadn't believed that the base would have been fully operational and fully manned. Their convoy passed through the gates to the compound of HARP Angola.

They arrived in the centre of the camp and disembarked, looking about them. Although it seemed to be all fine and working, some things were notably… off. Optimus noticed it and so did Nuka.

_Why do they all look nervous? _Optimus thought, _And why is there only one armoured vehicle; an anti-aircraft gun no less? That pickup looks out of place as well…_

"Who's in charge here?" Nuka asked the nervous crowd of soldiers. Aaliyah sidled up close to him, scanning the crowd for her brother.

"I am," came a young, but hopeful voice from the crowd, "Captain Lyarges, in charge of HARP Angola."

"Sounds Greek to me," Nuka laughed, walking over to meet him.

"It is," Lyarges replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you major, and you and your soldiers are welcome in my camp… and is that…?"

"Yes, captain, that is Optimus Prime," Nuka told him, "But I need some help on one thing…"

"What sir?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Nuka suddenly roared.

"S-Sir?" Lyarges jumped.

"YOUR MEN, CAPTAIN. WHY ARE THEY ALL LOOKING AS GUILTY AS MURDERERS IN THE FIRST DEGREE?"

"W-Well…"

"AND WHERE IS JELANI OWUSU, WHO WAS SENT HERE TO DISCOVER YOUR LACK OF COMMUNICATIONS? AND WHY ARE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS DOWN? AND WHAT IS THIS REPORT OF A SIGHTING OF A DECEPTICON?"

The captain welted under the pressure and force Nuka used and seemed to give up inside. He sighed, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Jelani is in the command building," he said sadly, "Locked in room 14; we haven't hurt him though. One of my men will open it up for you…"

As several soldiers went on their way to rescue Jelani, accompanied by Aaliyah, Nuka gave Lyarges a killer stare.

"What's going on here, captain?" the major asked, "And you better spill everything."

The captain sighed. Some of the men in the camp were in tears. Something very bad was going on here.

"Payload, Dropkick," Lyarges ordered, "Alternate."

At that, the anti-aircraft gun and the pickup truck transformed, as did Optimus Prime. The two Decepticons stood up and looked down on the convoy. The new arrivals were all in shock, with the exception of Optimus Prime, who had steel injected into his gaze, training a rifle on each Decepticon. They didn't respond, but just stared back at Optimus with knowing looks.

"A couple of months ago, one of our patrols got lost in the woods east of here," Lyarges told Nuka, "While travelling through the jungle, they came across a cybertronian in stasis lock, his life-thread millimetres away from being cut. Not experienced in what had happened in Zambia, they thought it might have been an injured Autobot and called the rest of us in to recover him. Using pickups and construction equipment, we managed to bring him back to base.

"We were unable to communicate back to our HQ in the Ivory Coast due to our satellite uplink being knocked out in a monsoon a while ago; so we were on our own with an alien. We managed to nurse him back to partial health, enough for him to remain conscious and to speak. Dazed and confused, he told us he was a Decepticon named Payload.

"We were at a loss at what to do; this was an enemy we had sworn to destroy or capture. He told us of Starscream's stupid plot to destroy a dam and how he was washed away thanks to that 'con's efforts. He told us he wanted nothing more to do with the Decepticons, as they had abandoned him and we had shown compassion and mercy. Upon learning of what we did, he became scared. So… we promised that we wouldn't hurt him.

"No Decepticon had ever troubled us before; that was something that happened in a far-away land, with different people… so we took him in as an honorary member of HARP."

"I realised that I owed my life to these humans," the old Decepticon weapon-master told Optimus, "And that these aren't mere insects, but creatures of compassion and mercy, not just of greed and power-lust… I saw them for what they really were. As you do, Optimus."

But the Prime was not yet convinced; he kept his rifles up.

"I locked onto Payload's signal at about that time," Dropkick interrupted, "I was under orders from Starscream to remain in Zambia and 'watch for any developments'… how humiliating. A proud warrior, reduced to forgotten waste… so as soon as I realised my old war buddy was still alive I travelled straight here…"

"There was a bit of a misunderstanding," Lyarges admitted, "That was probably your witness account; Dropkick came quite close to killing some of my men down by the river when he arrived. Luckily for us, Payload quickly interfered and told him everything. And now… well, I'm not sure if they're Autobots or Decepticons, sir. But they're mean-ass poker players!"

With the story told, Lyarges let off a cheeky grin, which was quickly dropped by a glare from Nuka.

"And what about Jelani?" Nuka asked as he saw Aaliyah come out of the command building with her brother.

"Ah, yeah, that…" Lyarges said, scratching the back of his neck guiltily, "As soon as he saw the 'cons he threatened to rat us out… so we locked him up."

Nuka put his head in his hand.

"You guys are in so much shit," he muttered.

Lyarges hung his head. "If there is anything wrong with what I've done, blame me; don't court martial my men, sir, please… and Optimus? They are good guys… I do believe they regret what they've done."

Optimus turned to the two ex-'cons. They stared back.

"You two escaped at Zambia," Optimus remembered, his rifles still raised.

"Macerator did not," Dropkick said in their language, "You killed him."

"Do you still hold that against me?"

"He was a comrade," Payload intoned, "But… that was a long time ago. And among the humans I have learned to… forgive."

"Really?" Optimus asked, still unconvinced.

"Optimus, back in the day, we were petty," Payload argued, "I know this as I know the stars themselves and I… I want no more part of this war. I once worked on weapons and now… and now I have worked for too long. I do not speak for Dropkick, but when I say I wish to be forgiven as I now forgive, I speak the truth. Optimus… I am sorry."

And Optimus then realised that Payload spoke from his spark and not from his mind; this was a Decepticon wisened by the price of war and the people it affects… and he seemed better from it. He lowered one rifle.

"And you, Dropkick?"

Dropkick frowned. "Listen to me Optimus; I have no room in my spark for compassion or forgiveness. I'm a warrior through and through. But I have no qualms against the humans and as they healed my friend, I am thankful to them. As for the Decepticons… they abandoned me, so I shall abandon them. I swear loyalty to you, Optimus and your Autobots. Just give me one chance at Starscream."

Optimus lowered his other rifle.

"You two have grown wiser with the years of conflict, whereas for others it would drive them insane. You two have my thanks for not wiping out this small camp of humans and for not re-joining with our enemies."

Payload and Dropkick nodded in thanks.

One of the convoy soldiers ran up to Nuka and whispered urgently in his ear. Nuka turned in shock and looked up at Optimus.

"Optimus!" he cried, "Something's happening in Audi Sarabia! Your Autobots…"

Optimus frowned for a second and immediately made a decision.

"I'm going, Nuka; clear up here."

"B-But it's thousands of miles!"

"Unburdened, I can make it," Optimus told him, "Decide the fates of these men; I must help my race as well."

"Then let me come with you, Optimus!" Dropkick cried, "Give me a chance to prove my loyalty!"

Optimus didn't need to consider it. He nodded immediately.

"Then let's roll!"

The two of them transformed and roared into the jungle.

* * *

><p>Sideswipe fell to the ground, his face mashed up, his arms broken, his skull split.<p>

Bludgeon looked down on him, his nightmare face triumphant.

"It is over, Sideswipe," Bludgeon growled, "Bumblebee and Mirage have surrendered, as have the other Autobots… but what of you? Will you die needlessly? Or will you join your friends, wherever they may end up…"

He raised the mace.

"Make your decision, now."

Sideswipe looked up at that wrathful figure, and felt all resistance flow out of him. He slumped back, as if dead to the world.

"Pathetic," Bludgeon growled, "That you would not face death standing."

"It's not about facing death… it's about living to fight another day."

Bludgeon punted him in the jaw, knocking out teeth.

"A coward's words," Bludgeon snarled, "Now stand up and walk!"

Sideswipe groggily got to his feet, shuffling through the square. Bludgeon didn't even need to force him with a weapon; he didn't need one.

Sideswipe looked up at the midday sun.

It seemed as if it was laughing at him.

* * *

><p>...<p>

"Sir," Muzaffar proclaimed, not half-proudly, "We have captured all the Autobots and their human allies; we have won."

Farrah stared up from his desk. He looked as if a bomb had hit him.

"We've won?"

"Yes sir,"

"Really?"

Muzaffar frowned, trying to decipher any hidden meanings in Farrah's tone. "Uh, yes sir. They are all our prisoners; Bludgeon wishes to execute them."

Farrah muttered something under his breath. "I don't believe it…"

"S-Sir? What's wrong?"

"WE'VE WON!" Farrah cried, leaping to his feet in jubilation, "THE BAD GUYS HAVE WON!"

"W-What?" Muzaffar asked in shock.

"Don't you see, Muzaffar?" Farrah laughed, "We have actually won; the good guys are either dead or captured! THE VILLAINS HAVE WON!"

"Villains, sir?" Muzaffar asked evenly.

"Oh, come on general!" Farrah condescended, "I'm a dictator with an A-level in genocide and paedophilia; we're less heroic than the Nazis!"

"P-Paedophilia?" Muzaffar muttered, horrified.

"Come on, Muzaffar," Farrah exclaimed, missing his commander's obvious disgust, "I want to laugh in the faces of my enemies."

He strode past his general and headed straight towards the door to his office, leaving with a merry whistle on his lips.

Muzaffar was left alone in his lord's office, growing resentment in his heart.

Well, he wasn't _exactly _alone.

The plasma-screen TV alternated and perched on the desk. Muzaffar and Laserbeak stared at each other with hardened and disgusted eyes.

"You have a… son, General Kassis?" Laserbeak snarled with a scary grin, "A family…?"

Muzaffar frowned.

"Well, whenever your hate for your leader becomes too much," Laserbeak cackled, "We could always have him removed… and replaced."

Muzaffar shivered.

"He is slowly losing his grip on sanity," Laserbeak intoned with a slimy smile, "And… dignity."

"But if he was to be replaced, then the new president would have to continue making _that_ deal with the devil," Muzaffar replied, "And become a dictator no better than all the others…"

"But that's where you can change things!" Laserbeak argued, "You could turn it into whatever country you want… and be rewarded for it. We would support you and the cries of the people would be a thing of the past!"

Muzaffar scowled and turned, following in his lord's steps.

"Think about it, child!" Laserbeak shrilled after him, "Or we will just find someone else!"

But Muzaffar was already out the door, his mind racing.

* * *

><p>The nine Autobots and twenty-seven humans kneeled in the square, each one beaten and bloodied. It was over.<p>

"It was a nice plan," Bumblebee acknowledged, his injuries still sore from his encounter with Sonar and Rampage, "Attacking from three directions."

"Shame Bludgeon's as tough as old Ironhide," Sideswipe muttered, "With the cunning of Soundwave."

"Not a combo to enjoy," Mirage sighed.

The civilians and Decepticons lined the streets, watching with interest. Although some of the Decepticons pointed and jeered, the civilians just had glum, sorrowful looks on their faces.

"Shame these clasps are on," Roadbuster spat, "I would've gone out fighting.

"Then why didn't you do that before?" Topspin asked.

"You don't _fight_ a guy like Scavenger."

At that there were murmurs of agreement from all around. You didn't fight Scavenger. You just sort of hoped that he lost interest in killing you and rolled off. That was the only way you could possibly call an engagement with him a victory.

"Just tell me this," Epps asked the Autobots, "Why the hell do the Decepticons get all the badasses?"

"I guess it's got to do with more of a freedom," Ratchet replied, missing the spite, "In that whereas Autobots show mercy and compassion, the Decepticons could kill whoever they wanted. There weren't qualities of… sadism on our side."

They saw Akil Farrah appear on a balcony in the palace they faced. As if an alarm had been switched on, the crowd suddenly broke out into cheers and applause that would have been less forced if it had been beaten out of them.

"Well guys, this is it," Lennox told them, "Any regrets?"

"Not avenging my sisters," Arcee spat.

"Not saying goodbye to Stacy," Blazemaster whispered.

"Missing the fuckin' Superbowl!" Leadfoot belched, and they all laughed.

Farrah waved his arms to call for peace, which happened a bit too fast for his liking. He turned his gaze to the defeated HARP soldiers in the centre of the square.

_Excellent…_

"My brothers and my sisters…" Farrah told the people with a heavy heart, "I told you of the Autobots betrayal and NOW feast your gaze upon those who fought us… fought ME! You must all realise now that the Decepticons are our friends and that I shall be the one who will lead you all to salvation! It is from this moment in time that our country will rise up above all others; we must welcome all those that proclaim themselves as your lords and masters, for only through order can we have peace and prosperity! Let these anarchic individuals and their punishments show you what happens when you betray our country and THOSE WHO RULE IT!"

Bludgeon approached the doomed prisoners, his high-voltage electro cannon raised and powered up.

"You first, Sideswipe," Bludgeon growled, aiming the weapon at his enemy's face, "Any last words?"

"Yeah… a true master of Metallikato wouldn't use a weapon like that."

"There's a difference between a true master of the art," Bludgeon snarled, "And a winner."

"_Bludgeon, come in._"

"What is it, Soundwave?" Bludgeon growled.

"_Execute all Autobots as quickly as possible; Autobot reinforcements incoming, fast._"

"What?" Bludgeon spat, "Why did you not—"

"_BLUDGEON, KILL THEM NOW._"

Bludgeon turned back to Sideswipe. He grinned.

"Goodbye then, Sideswipe."

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

><p>…Just as a black blob struck the side of it.<p>

It sent such a shock through the cannon that it short-circuited and let off a pitiful whine before failing completely. Bludgeon looked at it in mild confusion.

"What the—"

"_BLUDGEON, IT'S OPTIMUS PRIME!_"

And then the building on the left exploded and two figures came roaring out, guns blazing.

Chaos erupted.

The people screamed and fled, trampling over one another in their panic. The Decepticons, unable to move due to the swarming insects, quickly found themselves on the wrong end of several fists. Optimus Prime and Dropkick powered through the human and Decepticon defences, knocking down any enemies in their way.

Bludgeon fell back, accompanied by Overload and Brakedown.

"Finally, a challenge," he growled.

"It's Optimus Prime!" Overload cried, "We've got to run!"

"NOT ONE STEP BACK!" Bludgeon roared, backhanding Overload into the street, "CHARGE!"

He leapt into battle, bringing down the savage mace in an arc that could split the Earth's crust. Optimus looked up and blocked it with his axe, before nutting Bludgeon backwards.

"Fuck this!" Brakedown cried, "Flatline, get us out of here!"

But before he could do anything else, Brakedown suddenly found himself tackled by Dropkick, who charged him through several walls.

Lennox looked about him, trying to decipher what was happening in the whirlwind melee he found himself in. He also found, to his surprise, that his cuffs had been removed. He turned around and saw Ryder.

"Kid!" he cried, but Ryder had simply vanished into the crowd of chaos.

Bludgeon swung again, hard, knocking the axe from Optimus's hands; in response, Optimus drew his sword and brought it down, but Bludgeon managed to parry it with his head.

Overload growled. "It's time to bring in the big guns…" he muttered from the shadows of an alleyway, "SCAVENGER!"

As Optimus and Bludgeon duelled to the death in the centre of the square and the remaining Autobots charged the remaining Decepticons, a shadow was cast over them all.

A while ago, Optimus and Ironhide had fought the monstrous Decepticon Demolisher in Shanghai; Scavenger, for all intents and purposes, _was _Demolisher. Just meaner.

His unicycle-like mode of travel allowed him to crush houses with his passing, and his huge hands could even pick up Hightower. Only Devastator could have beaten him in size and strength. And Devastator wasn't there.

Scavenger rolled right over the square, and Optimus, quickly realising the bigger threat, leapt onto Scavenger's wheel as he passed. Scavenger didn't even notice him, rolling right over the square and Brimstone, crushing the Decepticon like road-kill. Optimus shot his cannon upwards, slamming several slugs into Scavenger's armpit. Slightly annoyed, Scavenger finally noticed his passenger and concentrated on flicking him off. Distracted from his location, Scavenger rolled out of the square and kept on going, taking Optimus with him.

Bludgeon watched as the colossal figure continued out of the city.

He grunted, before turning back to the battle at hand.

His Decepticons were fleeing away from the square, scurrying down alleys and running down roads. Soon, the square was empty except for him and some bewildered soldiers under Muzaffar.

He stretched, scratched his head where it had deflected Optimus's sword, and charged after them.

* * *

><p>Brakedown smacked Dropkick away, kicking him backwards and following up with an overhand right. The new Autobot dropped to one knee.<p>

"You shouldn't have returned, Dropkick," Brakedown spat, "And not as a traitor!"

"You idiot!" Dropkick spat, "You're just being used!"

"Used?" Brakedown questioned, "What are you talking about?"

Dropkick spat out a tooth and hardened his face.

"You are nothing but a pawn to the likes of Soundwave and Starscream… even Megatron himself. As soon as you run out of steam for the Decepticon war machine, you'll be thrown into the junk pile! Don't make the same mistake I made… I have had a closer look at these humans and you know what? They have more honour and integrity then any five of you combined."

Brakedown laughed. He chortled like a madman, spitting lubricant and gastric acid in Dropkick's face.

"Used? Of course we're being used, you dumb piece of scrap! We've always been used, since we were born! No matter the side, you're still just another soldier in this bloody, hopeless war. Honour and integrity are dead, and even if they live, a traitor should not be the one to talk of them. The whole point of being used is to see who comes out of this war alive… to be cunning and strong enough to escape. That is the whole point of war. And you made the mistake of playing sides."

Brakedown drew a blaster off his back and pointed it at Dropkick's face.

"You won't live past this day, Dropkick," Brakedown told him with a triumphant glare in his optics, "You should never have returned."

But just as he pulled the trigger, he was knocked down with authority. Roadbuster straddled him and punched him in the face, letting an optic hang loose.

Brakedown knocked him off and leapt to his feet, only to be tackled by Topspin. Undaunted, Brakedown simply dropped, smashing Topspin's face into the pavement. Leadfoot grabbed him from behind and wrapped an arm around his throat. Brakedown threw him over his head and stomped on his face.

But then his back exploded. Roaring, Brakedown turned around and saw Sgt Recon standing there, bazooka on his shoulder, the end still smoking.

"Foolish human!" Brakedown roared and raised his blaster again—

—Only for Dropkick to smash his fist into Brakedown's jaw. Dazed, the Decepticon dropped the blaster and fell back. Dropkick picked up the blaster.

"What was that about surviving, Brakedown?" he asked coldly.

Brakedown roared and charged, but it was the wrong move. Dropkick aimed the blaster and fired, the shot blowing off most of Brakedown's head. He was dead before he hit the floor.

* * *

><p>Bludgeon found Sideswipe leaning on a building, still suffering from his injuries. He snorted in disgust.<p>

"Pathetic," he muttered, swinging his mace lazily.

"What you never understood, Bludgeon," Sideswipe gasped, "Is the importance of friends… of buddies that will always be there for you…"

At that moment, Ratchet, Mirage, Arcee, Bumblebee, Blazemaster, Lennox, Epps and the remaining humans of HARP appeared on the rooftops around Sideswipe, weapons at the ready.

"It is over, Bludgeon," Sideswipe told him, "Will you die needlessly? Or will you join your subordinates, wherever they may end up…?"

Bludgeon looked each Autobot in the eye. They stared back, unflinching.

"You do realise, Sideswipe," Bludgeon growled, "That if you had the Wreckers with you, then this might have been a fair fight."

Sideswipe frowned. "What—"

A shockwave emanated from Bludgeon, an area-effect weapon that knocked everyone within a hundred meters to the ground. As Sideswipe leapt back to his feet, Bludgeon smashed into him, smashing him through the building and out the other side. The force of this demolition caused the roof to cave in, dropping the members of HARP into a pile in the building.

Bludgeon knocked Sideswipe into stasis lock with a hammer fist, before turning around to face the remaining Autobots.

"Who's first?" he snarled.

Ratchet charged him, his buzzsaw spinning like a tornado. It took one swing of the mace to break both of his legs.

Mirage and Blazemaster leapt out of the building and charged from either side. Bludgeon swept Blazemaster's legs, sending him to the ground, before following up with an uppercut that snapped Mirage's neck and sent him into stasis lock before he was even flung into the air.

As Bumblebee charged, Bludgeon stomped Blazemaster's head, knocking him out cold.

Bumblebee fired a shot into Bludgeon's back, making him angry. Bludgeon swung round with a right hand that would've decapitated the plucky Autobot if it had landed. But Bumblebee was quicker than expected and slipped under it before landing an uppercut into Bludgeon's chest. Now enraged, Bludgeon grabbed Bumblebee's head and kneed him in the face repeatedly, until his optics were smashed and his face a twisted, broken mess.

But before the Decepticon commander could finish him off, Arcee dug her blade into his back. Bludgeon roared, grabbed Arcee by the neck and threw her to the ground. He pulled the blade out of his back and ate it.

Arcee looked up, unarmed and completely outmatched by the Decepticon.

"I don't hit women," Bludgeon growled, "But if they are foolish enough to challenge me, I can kick pretty hard."

Arcee screamed a battle cry and charged, and, true to his word, Bludgeon punted her into the air. She landed in a heap several hundred meters away.

All that was left was Colonel Lennox's men.

"Uh, boss?" Robertson whispered, "There is absolutely no way we can even hope to hurt this guy."

Lennox gulped. Bludgeon launched a missile from his shoulder.

Lennox managed to duck out the way just in time, but he and his men were buried under the rubble from the explosion.

Everyone lied defeated.

And then someone slammed into Bludgeon, knocking him into the ground from behind. Bludgeon roared and got to his feet, spitting lubricant everywhere.

Dropkick faced him, the smaller Autobot standing tall, fire in his optics.

"Dropkick?" Bludgeon asked, surprised, "When did you get here—?"

"Save it, lieutenant," Dropkick snarled, "I'm with the Autobots now."

Bludgeon frowned.

"I can understand that," Bludgeon growled, "But I must warn you, Dropkick; as a former student at my academy, I am giving you one chance to save yourself and run."

Dropkick drew a sword from his back. "I'm sorry, boss, but it doesn't work like that anymore. The Decepticons turned their back on me, so the Decepticons are going to get stabbed in the back."

"There are three kinds of people I hate in this world," Bludgeon told Dropkick, "The cowards, the petty and, above all, the traitors. You will die today Dropkick. I do not even need to say that is a fact."

They roared and charged, mace meeting sword with an echo that rang out through the city.

The evening sun was setting.

* * *

><p>The square outside the palace was in uproar.<p>

Thousands of people roared at the palace, throwing bottles and rocks at the ancestral building. They were angry at their homes being destroyed by the aliens. They were angry with all the dead family members. And, most of all, they were angry at the man who had put them down for years.

"Laserbeak!" Farrah shrieked, "Kill them!"

"Farrah, calm down," Laserbeak snarled, "Tell me the location of the Pillar and I'll help you get out of this!"

"YOU THINK I'M DUMB?" Farrah roared, "YOU'D KILL ME AS SOON AS I TOLD YOU!"

"You're paranoid," Laserbeak lied, "Your position in life can still be salvaged if you simply _trust me_."

"Oh, and why shouldn't you?" came another, but all too familiar voice, "After all, the last time I had seen you two together, one was trying to kill the other."

Both Farrah and Laserbeak turned in alarm. They saw the new arrival.

It was Ryder, ELLIPSIS on his shoulders.

"YOU!" Laserbeak shrieked, "DIE!"

Fast as lightning, Ryder aimed and fired his rifle, the blob of sticky material slapping Laserbeak in the chest. Voltage unmatched ran through him.

Screaming and flailing, Laserbeak scrambled across the floor towards the balcony, trying to get airborne.

"Out of the way," Ryder warned Farrah. The fearful dictator almost slammed himself against the wall.

Ryder ran towards the balcony and punted Laserbeak with all his might, sending the screaming avian into the darkened sky, its shrieks fading as it disappeared into the darkness.

"It's good," Ryder muttered, before turning back to Farrah.

"Y-Y-You!" Farrah cried fearfully.

"I brought a new toy this time," Ryder explained, pointing to ELLIPSIS, "Wanna see how hard I swing it?"

"P-Please, let me go!" Farrah cried, "Don't kill me!"

"You survived round 1 thanks to the idiocy of the judges," Ryder told him, "But you've got about as much hope of surviving round 2 as Apollo Creed did."

"Listen, I have money, loads of money, gold and diamonds—!"

At that moment, Muzaffar ran in, pistol raised.

"What are you doing here, kid?" the general asked.

Ryder looked lazily at him. He pointed at Farrah.

"You work for this scumbag?" Ryder asked.

"I am one of his generals."

"And what is a general's job; taking orders, or protecting his people?"

Muzaffar frowned. "Both," he answered.

"Good answer, but in the end, which should take priority over the other?"

Muzaffar looked at his lord and realised that he held Farrah's life in his hands. Farrah looked back with pleading eyes.

"I think…" Muzaffar said slowly, "We should let the people decide."

Ryder gave a wry smile as Farrah's mouth became agape at the betrayal.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Ryder agreed and grabbed Farrah by one leg, dragging him towards the balcony.

"MUZAFFAR!" Akil Farrah roared, "YOU SWORE LOYALTY TO MY FATHER AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY HIS KINDNESS? YOU BETRAY HIS ONLY SON?"

"No father would be proud of a son like you," Muzaffar said in a small voice.

Ryder pushed Farrah up against the railing so that he was almost dangling over the edge.

"No, wait!" Farrah pleaded, "I'll tell you where the Pillar is!"

"Oh yeah, you had one of those… alright then; tell me where the Pillar is and I'll let you go."

"R-Really?"

"I promise."

Farrah gulped. "It's in warehouse B-17, at the Falikayah Depot, 14 miles north-east of the city."

Ryder nodded. "Thank you," he said, and he let him go.

Farrah fell, screaming towards the angry crowd far below. But instead of splattering into the square, the crowd caught him. On reflection, it would have been better if he had splattered.

"NO!" he screamed, "I AM YOUR RULER! LET ME GO! NO! GET OFF ME! THE DECEPTICONS WILL KILL ALL OF YOU, THEY NEED ME! HELP! HEEEELP! NO NO NO!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As the last blood-curdling scream faded into the coming night, Ryder turned back to Muzaffar.

"Well, looks like I've got to go," Ryder sighed. He pulled something out of his duster coat.

"What's that?" General Kassis asked.

"The sound and fury, general. Sound and Fury."

* * *

><p>Optimus scaled Scavenger as the Decepticon powered through the desert, his huge wheel crushing the highway underneath.<p>

"GET OFF!" Scavenger bellowed, but Optimus took no heed.

He continued to climb up the huge Decepticon, which bucked and swayed to tear off the clingy Autobot.

"Stop now, Scavenger!" Optimus ordered, "And I'll let you go!"

"YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AN ANNOYING BUG!"

Optimus leapt from Scavenger's chest to grab his flailing arm. With one arm holding onto Scavenger's he pulled his blaster off his back and fired at the nearest armpit.

Scavenger roared as he felt his arm begin to detach. He slammed it against his body, trying to crush Optimus. But Optimus leapt a second early and landed on the axel that held the huge rolling wheel. The force of the slam broke the joint, and Scavenger's arm came clean off, flying into the desert.

Scavenger roared in pain and surprise, just as Optimus began attacking the axel with his keyblades. He stabbed at the burning rubber and sliced at the toughened metal. Scavenger roared again as he felt his wheel begin to loosen.

"NO!" Scavenger roared, "DON'T!"

"Goodbye, Scavenger," Optimus proclaimed, and stabbed one last time.

The wheel came loose completely, and Scavenger and Optimus crashed into the desert, rolling over in a titanic pile of metal. Optimus smashed into the sand, his blades flying into desert.

He groaned as he stood up, swaying. He looked over to where the massive Scavenger lay. He wasn't moving.

Pulling his blaster off his back, Optimus stalked over to doomed cybertronian.

The huge Decepticon was staring up at the stars… the stars that had just come out to see what was happening on the planet below. His eyes were glazed over with self-pity.

"Any last words, Scavenger?" Optimus asked, raising the blaster.

"No… I have nothing to say to you, Prime."

"Then goodbye…"

"Wait! Please… allow me to see the ocean one last time…"

"The ocean?" Optimus asked, stunned.

"Once, on the way to Earth, Soundwave put down the _Nemesis _for repairs…" Scavenger murmured, "And on that planet, there was an ocean so wide and so huge, you would not believe… no-one else liked the cool waters, but I… I found it relaxing. In the evening, I would just swim all through the night. It was perfect. And for once, I didn't feel like a machine of war…"

Optimus didn't know what to say.

"So please, Optimus, allow an old, old fool like me to just look upon it again…"

"But we're so far away—"

But then Optimus noticed how far west they'd come. And, indeed, there lay the ocean, many miles away, but visible to a cybertronian's eyes.

"It is over for me Optimus; I am defeated and dead to the world… to the Decepticons… I am now just another casualty in this war… so as a last request, turn my body over so that I may see it… please…"

Optimus stood for a second, but then nodded. He walked over to the giant and put his fingers under the body. Heaving with all his might, Optimus rolled the colossal creature over, so that he could face the west.

A red sunset upon the water. In silence. Even Optimus realised he was looking at a natural beauty.

The water was so calm, reflecting the red glow and the black sky to give the illusion of some sort of fire raging deep beneath the waves… and the red sun, like an eye, of heat and light and power, casting its gaze upon the sea…

There was peace on Earth at that point, at that time… so very peaceful, and so very clear.

"They call it the Red Sea, you know," Optimus told him.

Scavenger nodded. "It is a good name."

They stared in silence for a couple of more minutes. But finally, Optimus turned to Scavenger.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way, Scavenger… but you chose the wrong side…"

"We're not all bad, Optimus," Scavenger told him, his eyes mystical against the sun, "Even the ones who look the meanest, or have the most scarred histories… they have some good qualities in them. There are good Decepticons out there… who can change. You've just got to look hard… and be ready to forgive…"

Optimus aimed the blaster at his head.

"And remember them… by Primus, remember those who have fallen… for the fallen will never rise again…"

A single shot rang out across the desert.

And then Optimus Prime was on the road back to Mekka.

* * *

><p>Sideswipe's optics switched on. His gaze was hazy and groggy, but he could see something moving…<p>

It was a mace. It had spikes and barbs, and it was motorized, like a chainsaw, twirling like something out of a nightmare. It was a mace. And it was going down, then up. Down, then up. Down, then up.

It was coming down on something.

It looked like a body. And the mace was coming down on an area at the top of the body. Where the head should have been.

But there was no head. Not anymore.

All that was left was what might once have been a head.

Sideswipe tried to move, but he couldn't. He tried to scream, but he couldn't. He tried to cry, like humans did all the time, and found he couldn't and never had…

Eventually, Bludgeon stopped pulverising Dropkick's corpse and turned to the defeated Autobots.

"It was not a fair fight," Bludgeon conceded, "But you should have run, and run very fast… a mistake you will never have the chance to learn from."

He walked towards them, slowly, dragging his mace behind him.

And then something landed in front of Sideswipe.

"And you are?" Bludgeon growled.

"A friend to the downtrodden," the figure replied, and Sideswipe felt the air around him being sucked into some sort of vacuum.

Bludgeon roared and charged.

And then a sound like distant thunder echoed around the city and sky. Bludgeon was flung into the air and far away, the shockwave sending him roaring into the distance.

The thunder became an echo, before fading away fully. The figure turned to look at them all.

He then turned to the setting sun.

"It wasn't the torture that was the worst part," Silverbolt echoed, oblivious to everyone else, with just a need to tell his story, "It was listening to the screams of my friends… of my wing-mates, those who looked up to me… those that depended on me… I had to hear their deaths replayed through my mind. And Starscream's slimy, nasty voice, telling us all just to give in… and I felt hate, hate I never thought I'd ever feel… hate I didn't know I had. One by one, my friends succumbed to the pain and departed my presence… until only I remained, broken and scarred… and Starscream faced me.

"He released me… he saw my degradation, my defeat, my broken psyche… and he released me, to carry the memories of all that had happened… and all that I had succumbed to…

"And out in the wastes and shadowlands, I began to see life for what it really was meant for… to never take another's… to never inflict pain or misery upon another… and I resolved to do that… to wander the void for an eternity…

"But why am I telling you this?" Silverbolt asked himself, "Because otherwise they would be forgotten… my story needed to be told, so that no-one should ever forget it…"

Sideswipe's optics switched off again, and he found himself in a dream from which he could not awake.

* * *

><p>When he awoke again, he felt much better and a scene much more pleasant took hold.<p>

Optimus Prime was there, and so was Ratchet, who was tending to him, even with shaky legs. Mirage and Arcee were laid out in stasis lock, while Bumblebee and Blazemaster were barely standing. The Wreckers were slumped in a group. Colonel Lennox and his men were wiping the dust from their uniforms. Silverbolt sat away from the rest of them, sifting the sand with his fingers.

And, strangest of all, was Ryder in a flatbed truck, something wrapped under tarpaulin upon it.

"Dropkick…" Optimus sighed with genuine sorrow, "What might have been…"

"Optimus," Mirage groaned with pain, "He was a Decepticon… it doesn't matter if he changed sides; he had bad energon in him…"

"Not cool dude," Robertson said with a frown, "You can hate what he did in life… but he's gone now; so respect the dead."

Mirage didn't answer, but looked away.

"Ryder!" Lennox called, "I won't even ask how you've got here, or what you've been doing; just please tell me that's not a bloody nuke."

"Better," Ryder replied, stepping out of the vehicle and walking round to the tarpaulin. With a pull, he removed it.

Revealed was a Pillar.

The members of HARP stared with shock.

"Farrah is dead," Ryder said with a shrug, lighting a cigarette, "The Decepticons are routed. We have a Pillar, to make up for the one we lost recently. And all that is true."

There was a moment's silence.

Then:

"Optimus…" Ratchet asked, unbelieving, "Have we won?"

"It seems so, Ratchet," Optimus said with a slight smile, "It looks like we've got a victory at last."

"Good," Lennox muttered, "Now someone get on the line to Diego Garcia; we need to get the hell out of here!"

There was a general murmur of agreement.

_This is a victory? _Sideswipe considered…

_Then why does it feel so much like a defeat…?_

The stars shone out above them.

And in a few hours, it would be a brand new day.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the palace, a new person sat in the seat of Akil Farrah.<p>

A vulture with no organic parts was perched on the desk in front.

"I will change things," Muzaffar Kassis said firmly.

"Of course you will," Laserbeak said slyly.

"The people are looking for inspiration… for hope. I will give it to them."

"And we will protect you."

"I will be a better ruler… I will not give in to luxury or pleasure…"

"Of course you won't."

"And we will rise again."

"Just like all those before you have done."

Power changes people. No matter the person.

It will do one of three things to that person: Inspire them, degrade them… or consume them.

There is no other option.

And, unbeknownst to Muzaffar Kassis as he walked out onto his balcony, was that there was a new dictator in town.

And in the dark of the night, eyes of evil watched from the shadows.


	15. Spellbound

"I-I don't understand," Starscream whimpered, "Why?"

Mixmaster and Deadlift locked the stocks onto Starscream's neck and hands, bringing them together and holding them in place. His engines were torn at and scratched, so that flight was impossible, except for short bursts. Finally, worst of all, a locator beacon was slapped on the back of his head.

"Because, Starscream," Megatron growled from atop his throne, "You attempted something stupid and futile; I can have neither within my army. I grew stronger and more… unstable during my time trapped under ice. You cannot imagine how it felt; to have muscles, yet not move them, to have weapons, yet not strike with them… to have a mouth, and yet never scream. So I will cast you back into my hell and if you escape, then you are welcome to join my Decepticon army again… but if you don't escape, then you'll stay there until you die."

"A-And the locator beacon?"

Megatron gave a satisfied but completely terrifying smile. "Starscream, you would be all alone in the cold… don't you wish for company?"

Starscream's optics gave away his fear as he realised how doomed he was.

"NO MASTER! PLEASE, I REPENT! FROGIVE MEEE!"

As Starscream was dragged away, all he could see was Megatron's malevolent eyes.

"Oh no, Starscream… forgiveness is dead. As you soon shall be."

* * *

><p>He screamed as he was launched from the Moon, his flaming form shrieking through the void.<p>

It only grew more enflamed as he passed through the atmosphere, his skin flaking away, his armour white-hot.

Soundwave watched his descent with manic eyes, following the fellow Decepticon through the layers of Earth's protective cover. He saw him slam into the Arctic.

_Now… let the entertainment begin._

* * *

><p><span>Episode 15: Spellbound<span>

_I can't do nothing right  
>I'll never sleep at night<br>Can't even start a fight  
>Oh, my feet have left the ground<br>I'm spinning round and round  
>Spellbound<br>My world keeps on tumbling down…_

—**Spellbound**

* * *

><p>"You know what?" Marcus sighed with a shade of loathing, "I don't even care what you did over there."<p>

Ryder and the Autobots had returned (including Optimus Prime, in which everyone except the omnipresent General Mason had been joyous at), and Ryder, although unsmiling, had the word 'satisfaction' radiating from his body.

"One of these days," Stacy said with a shake of her head, "You're going to die on one of your stupid adventures."

"No doubt," Ryder agreed, "But part of the reason I go on them is to find one worthy of providing my death anyway. So thanks for the compliment."

He passed by them, ELLIPSIS on his shoulders, almost swaggering with his arrogance.

"There's a reason that kid pisses people off," Marcus muttered, "Plus, he's too gung-ho for his own good."

"Says you," Stacy replied, "You've been much too… silly as well, lately."

"Have I?" Marcus asked, surprised, "Like how?"

"You suddenly have an urge to just charge off and fight the Decepticons, for one thing," Stacy remarked, "I don't know what's come over you… I miss the troublesome Marcus before you touched that sliver of the Allspark…"

"He hasn't gone anywhere!" Marcus cried, raising his arms up in exaggerated implausibility, "I'm as I have always been… my mind is just a little of track these days."

"'Off-track?'" Stacy repeated, incredulous, "You're hallucinating half the day and talking to things that aren't there the rest of the time!"

Marcus closed his mouth at that. "I… you think I'm crazy?" he gaped.

"Well…" Stacy said nervously, and realised that she might have gone too far, "Not crazy… just, a little… you know… insane."

Marcus stared at her. "Insane?" he muttered.

"Only a little," Stacy replied weakly, "It's not as if everyone's calling you a loony or anything."

"Then what are they saying? That I'm only a 'little' bit insane?"

"That's not fair Marcus; you're having hallucinations of Transformers brought about by an ancient alien artefact!" Stacy exclaimed, spewing out nonsense to cover what she had said before, "You should be happy that you haven't been locked up by the government and had strange tests done on you!"

Marcus looked at her incredulously. Then, without a word, he just walked past her, shaking his head.

Stacy frowned at his back.

"We wouldn't even be here if you had touched that thing!" she shouted at his back, across the hangar, "And we wouldn't have to be a part of this stupid war!"

But he ignored her, and kept on walking.

* * *

><p>Optimus stared hard at Mason, who, standing upon a gantry, shot an equally venomous look right back.<p>

"Optimus, why aren't you in HARP Africa?" Mason growled, "Or simply anywhere in Africa? Or anywhere that isn't here?"

"General, I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye," Optimus replied with a calm voice, "But on this occasion, let me tell you something; without me, HARP may not have won at Audi Sarabia."

"You overestimate yourself, Optimus," Mason spat, "You killed only one Decepticon."

"He was worth eight at the very least."

"And you brought another of your race into the fold!" Mason exclaimed, "And, apparently, _he_ was a Decepticon! Are you insane?"

"He was an Autobot," Optimus growled, "Who died saving his those who had once been his enemies in time for another of our rank to arrive, who you also mistrust, and proceeded to save them as well. His name was Dropkick. And he was a warrior to the end."

"I couldn't care less what you thought of him!" Mason cried, "Let me ask you something; Sentinel Prime was an Autobot through and through. After all, you brought him back! And who can dispute your logic on selection of former soldiers?"

Optimus locked a steely glare on the general who always seemed to have the answers. The general continued to match it, unflinching.

"Whether or not you want me as Autobot leader," Optimus told him, "I will stay here to help HARP from any threat it is unable to deal with the forces _you _command."

"Fine," Mason snarled, "But before you go, tell me this; do you have any other Decepticons in your pocket who just so happen to have turned Autobot?"

Optimus frowned slightly, remembering Payload. But the weapons-smith had put down his weapons, sworn to protect…

But hadn't Sentinel led his race for many a deca-cycle? And Optimus had judged him one sworn to protect…?

"No," Optimus said with a glare, before turning away.

But it didn't matter what he said, because Mason had guessed anyway.

With a slight smirk, he turned and headed towards the tech centre.

* * *

><p>The lagoon was perfect. Crystal clear water, blue and green, the cloudless sky above reflected in the cool waves.<p>

Kaminari descended from the surface once more, picking at the corals on the lagoon bed. The strange assortment of fish and large amount of other sea-life at the bottom of the lagoon never ceased to amaze her, and returning to it now was a beautiful dash of nostalgia.

Picking out a bright red starfish, she kicked her legs downward and shot towards the surface. She broke the top and took a deep breath, the sun warming the skin above her neck.

"I don't understand it!" Mirage grumbled, splashing the water with his leg, "How can you humans coat yourselves in this liquid? Consumption of it could prove to be lethal."

"That's why we hold our breath!" Kaminari laughed and dived under again.

She pulled herself through the forest of underground rocks, keeping an eye on a moray eel, watching for sea urchins…

_Every paradise has __its__ poisons_, she noted sadly, _And snake._

When she broke the surface again, she saw Mirage and Sideswipe wandering around in the lagoon with absolutely no idea of what to do. She giggled, suddenly reminded of Longarm. And that brought back sadness.

_Just another casualty in this bloody war._ Diego Garcia had a rotten history; when Shockwave wasn't trampling it all over, it was open to eyes far away from the world…

"Miss Ishihara?" Silverbolt called out from the shoreline, "It is complete."

She forgot about the darkness of the past and headed toward the shore where Silverbolt sat next to an oddly shaped rock. She walked up onto the sand, straightening out her hair, stuck together by the water. She looked at the rock.

"My-My God," she whispered, "Silverbolt, it's beautiful."

The Autobot had turned a large seaside stone into a statue, using surgical cutting lasers as the instruments of his art. It was a sculpture of Kaminari Ishihara breaking the surface of the lagoon, carved so accurately that Kaminari was sure that if you peered close enough, you'd see the tiny hairs on her skin. Silverbolt had also carved out the section of the lagoon in which she was coming out of; it was as if a bust had been made, of not only her, but the water. Below the sculpture, carved into the pedestal it was situated on, were the words 'DIEGO GARCIA'.

"It is nothing, really," Silverbolt said modestly, "If I had real tools, like I used to have on Cybertron then maybe I could make it worthy…"

"You're an artist?" Kaminari asked, surprised.

"Once, before the war…" he said, his eyes beginning to go misty and far away…

"No. Stop," Kaminari said sharply, "I know that you like to drudge up your past, but I also know that it causes you pain, so don't. Your work is perfect, and no tool could make it better."

Silverbolt didn't beam with pride, but he did give a sad little smile.

"But…" Kaminari said slowly, thinking hard, "There is something you could add."

"What?"

Kaminari told him. Silverbolt nodded and understood. He flicked out a laser on his wrist and scratched another two words under the name of the island, so that you couldn't miss them.

"Now it's perfect," Kaminari nodded, "And actually means something."

Below the sculpture on the pedestal were the words;

DIEGO GARCIA  
>PARADISE LOST<p>

* * *

><p>"Ah," Fearswoop sighed with a grin, "It's good to be home."<p>

Once again locked in a force-field that was nigh on impenetrable, and being manacled anyway, Fearswoop laughed.

"Shame I'm not in the old hangar," he cackled, "Oh yeah; it's not there anymore! HA!"

"Shut up," Ratchet grumbled from where he was fixing up the long-range surface energon scanner. He had already attached several screens and was now fixing up the generator.

Fearswoop stretched his grin even further and began to sing.

"_Oh, there once was a medic who said;__  
>'Shut up, Swoop, or I'll have your head!'<em>_  
><em>_But he couldn't have foreseen__  
>Where I was not once had been<em>_  
>And then I shot him in the back, dead!"<em>

Ratchet turned then, an angry glare in his eyes. "If you insist on disrupting my work anymore, then I'll have the Wreckers come down here and teach you a lesson in manners."

"You can't!" Fearswoop laughed, "I heard; they're going on trial back in the ol' US of A! Something about their actions in that desert…"

Ratchet grumbled again and fixed the final part of the generator.

"And now…" he said, unnecessarily melodramatic, "We have power."

He turned the scanner on and several lights began flashing. Immediately, there was the sound of a klaxon.

"Uh oh," Ratchet muttered, studying the screen.

"What's the matter?" Fearswoop asked, intrigued.

"We've got a bogey; the Arctic Circle!"

With that, Ratchet ran out the hangar to get the members of HARP ready.

Fearswoop was left alone. He grinned.

"_For only their views were to twist__  
><em>_As t__hey o__nly fought with gun and fist__  
>But when they were hit<em>_  
>And their throats slit<em>_  
>They <em>_finally __saw __the__ traitor in their midst."_

* * *

><p>"So a Decepticon can never change?" Stacy said hotly, an angry look on her face.<p>

Blazemaster sighed. Why couldn't she understand? They had been at war with the Decepticons for thousands upon thousands of years, he understood what drove them, what they wanted… and Stacy was too young to know of the hate and evils in the galaxy.

"I'm not saying it's impossible," Blazemaster said slowly, "Just highly unlikely."

"But it's still possible," Stacy pressed.

Blazemaster sighed again. She just couldn't understand…

"Starscream was always a talker," he told her, "He might seem petty and pathetic and… sad, but he's a Decepticon, a _commander _at that. He hasn't gotten to that position by helping out charities and saving hatchlings! And don't forget Silverbolt's story…"

"Yeah… you know… I don't really trust him that much."

"Who?"

"Silverbolt," Stacy sighed, "He seems like… I don't know… a bit of a loner."

"And Starscream isn't?" Blazemaster asked. If he had had an eyebrow, he would've raised it.

"Whatever," Stacy finally huffed. She always fell back to one word answers whenever she couldn't make her point.

Blazemaster smiled. He enjoyed these talks with Stacy; for one thing, they gave him the viewpoint on the human side of things, something that could be invaluable in future. And second… the little girl delighted the metal giant; she was so carefree and always looked at the world in a good light. Blazemaster had rarely seen someone with such a positive attitude, and it warmed his spark whenever he spoke with her.

"What about Marcus?" Blazemaster asked.

Stacy snorted, uncommon for her. "He tries to hide the fact that he's slowly turning cuckoo by blanking people, then talking to thin air! He's also having all these hallucinations of the Decepticons, which General Buttface is quick to use, which doesn't help him at all! Plus, he's got that woman psychologist always giving him interviews…"

"Miss Rahb? She's an extremely nice lady."

"Well, not really!" Stacy puffed, "She's just miserable inside, and although she's pretty, she hasn't got any brains in that head of hers!"

"She's got several degrees and diplomas…"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she's… socially smart!" Stacy said desperately, "Grr, why's it so hard to describe?"

Blazemaster carefully looked at the teenager sitting in his hand and quickly deciphered the emotion that was hidden behind her lies.

"Are you jealous?" he asked curiously.

"Jealous!" Stacy exclaimed, as if the Autobot had made up the word, "Why would I be jealous? What on Earth is there to be jealous of about that-that… that harpy!"

She sat back with her arms crossed. She kept her head down and was silent.

Blazemaster waited.

Eventually, she let out a sound so small that it could barely qualify as a whisper.

"Pardon?" Blazemaster asked politely.

"I said you're right," Stacy said, stifling a sob, "I am jealous; she's beautiful and smart and calm… and Marcus so obviously fauns over her that it's almost sickening. Before that sewer… everything was fine."

She looked up. She was almost on the verge of tears.

"I…"

"Listen Stacy, whatever you have to say, it's better out than in," Blazemaster told her.

She nodded. "I… love him."

Blazemaster was taken aback. "L-Love?"

"Yeah… I know it sounds childish and immature… but I do," she whispered, "We've always been together, ever since we were little… and I guess he's always thought me a sister to him…

"But I do love him. He's funny, witty… insane. Something just makes him… I dunno, special, I guess. He's always been there for me, except when he was forced away. I really do love him… I'm just scared of how he would react if I told him…"

Blazemaster had no idea what to say. For one, he had no clue what love was. Although he understood friendship and understood the bonds between battle-brothers and hatchery-brothers, he never understood this… alien emotion. But it apparently seemed so powerful and so resolute that it was inarguable, no matter your species. There was also the fact that he had never seen Stacy so emotional; even when she had cried over one of her few friends being pointlessly killed, she had gotten passed it. This was something else entirely, something she had kept to herself for years.

"I've never told anyone else," she said, sobbing slightly, "You must think I'm a fool…"

"No!" Blazemaster argued, "I understand… well, not really, but I believe I understand. Stacy, do you really feel like that for Marcus?"

"Yes."

"Well, then you should—" but at that moment, Ratchet came rushing into the hangar.

"Optimus!" he called to the far end, "We've got a hit in the Arctic!"

Optimus nodded. "What was the signal strength?"

"Very strong… it could be a locator beacon."

"Then most of the Autobots should stay here—"

"OPTIMUS!" Mason roared, charging into the hangar, "You are not in command; Ratchet is! You don't give the orders around here!"

"Good point," Optimus said icily, before turning to Ratchet, "Then Ratchet, what are your orders?"

Ratchet found himself on the spot, but quickly managed to see a way out.

"Optimus, any advice would be helpful."

"What kind of advice?"

"Any."

"Then I advise that most of the Autobots stay here, in case it is a trap, while a team of four, maybe three of us go to investigate the beacon. As there is no winter gear here for the human soldiers, they should be left out of the venture."

"Agreed; but who should lead the team going to the Arctic?"

"I advise that it should be me," Optimus said with a smile.

"Agreed."

Mason was now the colour of a strawberry, rage flowing through his veins. Humiliated, he turned and stalked out of the hangar.

"Blazemaster, Mirage and Arcee will come with me," Optimus said, "The rest stay here."

As the Pillars began to charge up, Blazemaster put Stacy down on the floor.

"Don't worry, little one," Blazemaster said to her, "When I return, we'll sort this whole thing out with Marcus."

"Promise me you won't tell anyone else," Stacy asked of him.

Blazemaster nodded. "I promise."

"The nearest ship allied with HARP is the destroyer _HMS Lionfish_," Ratchet told Optimus, "The bad news is that it is some miles away, so don't count on much support when you get there. The good news is that it is equipped with the latest in railgun technology, so if you happen to be outnumbered, don't expect to be outgunned."

Optimus nodded as Blazemaster, Mirage and Arcee gathered round.

The Pillars shone with their blue light.

* * *

><p>Although Starscream fell at roughly the same speed and velocity Megatron had, Megatron had been robbed of his senses by the Allspark's energy and was not accustomed to flying in his alternate mode; so he had not turned himself so that he landed with accuracy. He had also never known the Earth's gravity or orbit, causing the calculations that had run through his head to be wildly incorrect.<p>

But Starscream, even with proper flight disabled and his hands and neck tied together, managed to turn his body so that he shot towards the ice at an angle. An angle, he calculated, that would enable him to survive the landing and not be forced straight into stasis lock.

He screamed the final hundred meters, his flaming body smashing through the ice, instantly causing it to turn to water and then to vapour. He descended another several hundred meters, the ice becoming thicker and colder, his flames losing their precious supply of heat.

He eventually stopped altogether, in pitch darkness, the ice freezing against his metal skin. He felt the air gather down his throat, cooling his insides as well. He turned up the power in his internal temperature, but immediately felt drowsy; such a move drew power from the other systems within his body… including the ones that kept him alive.

He considered waiting there for the Autobots, and quickly dismissed it; although the enclosed space was small and hard to get at, the Autobots could easily dig him out, and if he tried to tunnel his way through (although from the thickness of the ice, he doubted he could) he would probably reach the ocean and quickly find himself hundreds of meters below the surface in freezing water.

_Better face death with dignity, _he thought, spitting on the icy walls, _it'll__ be the first thing I've done in a lifetime that was done as such…_

Using his talon-equipped feet (something else that Megatron certainly could have used), Starscream started propelling himself back up the hole he had made himself, the talons perfect climbing hooks. It was pitch-black, but he didn't activate his night-vision; after all, he was climbing the only thing worth seeing.

_So this is my final journey? Hated by both sides, forced to dig myself out of a planet I hate, to fight Optimus Prime and his foolish Autobots on the surface… how has it come to this?_

_All I did… all I wanted… was it all for nought? So far from home, so far from peace… is this how I waste life? _

…_Why am I asking questions to myself?_

_Because you're a lonely, poor fool, Starscream. No-one respected you, no-one liked you, and you were never more than a tool for those much more powerful than you…_

_I was respected, ONCE! I was Air Commander Starscream, who ruled over the skies of Cybertron, served in Megatron's war academy… fought for the weak, protected the defenceless! I WAS A WARRIOR!_

_And now? Now… I am nothing. Those who looked up to me are all dead, their corpses lost in the ashes of space… Cybertron. Our home… gone. By Primus, what was it all for? The rage, the battles, the losses… what are we fighting for now? The death of our last remaining enemies? The pieces of our lost technology scattered across this horrendous piece of rock? Optimus treats this as his home, BUT OUR HOME IS LOST! He is a pet, nothing more…_

_But how is that bad? He is loved by the people of this planet, protected by them, given shelter… and he has his Autobots, friends and allies who look up to him. And the Seekers? They are divided, greedy, ambitious… they are only Seekers in name. Out of all of them, only Thundercracker sees my vision and helps fight for it. It's also a stroke of luck that he's the most powerful of them, excluding me, and he terrifies them. That barely keeps them in line…_

_And comparing my soldiers and Optimus's, it is obvious which is stronger and more suited to the task of achieving victory…_

Above him, he saw the first glimpses of light. He gulped, not knowing what could be waiting at the top. But he continued on.

_My death awaits…_

_My death._

_I have died before, haven't I? It seems so long ago… the human, Sam. The boy. Now his corpse lies in the void as well as all the cybertronians of the past…_

_My death. The pain. I don't wish to endure it again…_

_But you must, mustn't you? You fool, Starscream. All your talk of surviving… and even in death, you were probably better off than you are now._

_No… there was a time… a time when I had forsaken all chances of living and given myself to the Matrix in a last effort to destroy the last traitor… _

_What was his name again? Heh, the cold is affecting my brain… Wreckage! That was it, the slimy fool. And right after I had killed Dreadwing as well…_

_Dreadwing. Really, I could blame it all on him. When Megatron was dead and buried and it all seemed to be mine… so close… yet so far…_

* * *

><p><strong>Cybertron, the Dead Planet<strong>

**Six years ago…**

"You can't be serious!" Elita-One cried from where she was chained to the Allspark, "Let us go and we can help each other. They'll never follow you!"

The crowd thronged in the hundreds, cybertronians of all size and rank, of all factions and groups gathered to see their lord bring back life to their world. They were cheering from all around the pedestal on which he stood, surrounded by his lieutenants, the new Allspark behind him, an empty husk… but not for long.

As Dreadwing's fake sun glowed and prepared to disappear behind the horizon, Lord Starscream, Ruler of Cybertron, barely gave his sacrifice a look.

"Silence!" he shouted, heading towards the control console, "Take comfort in the fact that your last actions will have saved so many of us. This is what you deserve."

Elita-One was shaking with fear at Starscream's cold tone, knowing that her death was at hand.

"YOU'RE INSANE!" she screamed.

"No…" Starscream muttered darkly from his position at the control console.

"I'm in _charge_," he told her, an evil glare in his eyes, and he tapped the execution button on the console.

Immediately, the machine beside the Allspark sent an energy pulse that tore open the sparks of Grindcore, Warpath, Signal Flare, Crankcase and Elita-One. Their sparks retired, the energy of their heart carried into the machine where it stored their living essence. Their cores failed, each of them chained to the Cube, all of them dead.

"Now, let their sacrifices serve as the catalyst for our new world," he announced to the rapturous crowd, "I give you… _Cybertron_!"

He tapped another button, and the energy stored within the machine transferred itself into the Allspark. With a near-blinding glare, the Cube radiated with the energy of the deceased Transformers.

And Starscream knew he had done it. Cybertron was saved. And he ruled it—

But there was something wrong. Although the Allspark replica he had built was on, it wasn't… working. No life radiated from its glowing surface, no soul was at its centre…

_But it's flawless! Why won't it work? HOW IS THIS POSSIBILE?_

And that's when the army of drones entered the arena, the crowd screaming and splitting.

"What's going on?" Stockade asked, confusion lit across his cruel face.

And before Starscream could answer, he had several blasters pointed at him. Thundercracker's mouth was agape. The drones surrounded the Ruler of Cybertron, but one stood out from the rest, intelligent and proud.

"Another traitor to our cause," Starscream spat, staring down the end of the blaster pointed in his face, "Your death will be one for the Cybertronian Archives, Dreadwing. I promise you that."

The sentient drone stood before Starscream, his yellow optic twisted in concentration. He shook slightly from nervousness, but his blaster was steady.

"Step aside, Starscream," Dreadwing ordered, "You've done enough."

As Payload pointed a blaster at Stockade as well, Dreadwing continued. "Did you really think you'd be able to rule our forces?"

Before Thundercracker could intervene, Ramjet held another blaster to his head.

"Back off!" Ramjet ordered, "Choose your side, soldier, and choose it wisely."

"You too?" Thundercracker growled, "Jealous that you didn't go along for the big ride?"

Dreadwing stared Starscream right in his optics. "When you sent back Frenzy's information to us, I realised just what you had going. Did you think we were just going to wait for you to return? The drones are _my _units. That's why Ramjet and the others fell in line," Dreadwing told him, knowing that was half a lie, "My army is simply… larger. Why do you think we were so willing to help you? And to think, you never thought I was good enough to be one of your team."

Starscream was furious. But he almost laughed in Dreadwing's face at his rebuke.

"Your typical dilettante way of logic—you act like the leader, but you'll never be one," Starscream told him, his glare ferocious, "You're a novice, Dreadwing, and I should have never given the order to save your worthless frame."

Dreadwing's optic burned with ruined pride. "All I've done, Starscream. All you've failed to see… I ruled our planet when Megatron, Shockwave and _you _abandoned us! Look at that… _thing_, you have created with the lives of others; it is a monstrosity… we need only go along, and survive…

"And you doubt me as leader?" he suddenly roared, pointing behind him to the army of drones, "I'm _their _leader Starscream! And unless your optics are shielded, you are vastly outnumbered…

"SEIZE THEM!"

* * *

><p>Crawling out of the ice, Starscream stared around him.<p>

It was as he suspected; ice rose up in hills and crags around the clearing he found himself in. A blizzard slapped him in the face, snow and hail striking his skin like needles. But Starscream took no notice; he crawled fully out of the hole and knelt in the snow. He stared up at the grey sky.

_Out of all the places on Earth… this is the one that feels so much like home. There were no sands and no trees on Cybertron… but ice from the south was always common. Snow and ice… the only memories are the coldest ones._

* * *

><p>Randall was having a bad day. For two reasons, and both concerned the same man.<p>

He reread the email:

_You won't believe this Randall; the guy that cleaned up The Fallen? It's our old friend Timothy Dalton._

_I swear, he must be a traitor. He pops up in South America _and _Egypt, and each time he's recovering ancient Cybertronian technology. Both of them staffs used by very old Transformers._

_The guy in overall charge of the clean-up in Egypt was Colonel Gregory Thorne. I know him; I served in a company under his command back during an operation in Sierra Leone. He seemed like a trustworthy guy and he must have met this Dalton character in person. Good hunting._

_Fred_

But the second reason concerning Dalton was of more importance to Irving. The techie had been doing some digging on the lieutenant. The man had been a part of NEST in the old days and had been transferred from America to… the NEST base in Thailand?

Thailand. That was a place very far away from both Egypt and Peru. And apparently, he hadn't moved since.

Somehow, Irving knew, this chase would end up in Thailand. But for now, he'd better call up Colonel Thorne and get his side of the story…

* * *

><p>Optimus gritted his teeth at the sudden drop in temperature. Although the cold didn't bother him, the jarring shift of climate shook him slightly. It didn't help that he was in the middle of a blizzard that would have knocked over the humans if they had come.<p>

Blazemaster, Mirage and Arcee followed him through. They also were left slightly stunned by the shift, but quickly stood up straight.

"It looks clear," Mirage muttered, "Of Decepticons, at least."

"It's another klik to the north," Arcee reminded him, "We have to check for an ambush first."

Optimus nodded in agreement. The four of them wandered through the blizzard.

Mirage was treading lightly. "Are you sure the ice won't crack?"

"It's not water below," Blazemaster told him, "Just ice for a long, long way down."

"Someone could have crashed landed," Arcee noted to Optimus.

"The signal would probably be weaker," Optimus told her, "And shouldn't have gotten stronger since. The closer we get, the stronger the signal grows…"

The other Autobots were on their guard, drawing an assortment of weapons.

Optimus led them through the blizzard.

* * *

><p>"<em>Optimus, the <em>HMS Lionfish _will be in range of the__ beacon__ in five minutes._"

"Excellent, Ratchet," the former leader of the Autobots replied over the com, "And our target is just over this rise…"

They had seen no Decepticons, no other targets. Something uneasy was growing within Optimus. It might just be a crashed Autobot, like Silverbolt… but a gut instinct he had gathered in his years of war had taught him otherwise.

"Let's see what we have got then," Optimus muttered, as the four Autobots headed over the rise.

Human eyes wouldn't have been able to see a thing; the blizzard put paid to that. But the optics of the Autobots saw through the storm and found a figure with his back turned, kneeling in an awkward position. What wasn't white from the frost was silver and black.

"It's just the one," Optimus muttered to himself.

He couldn't recognise the cybertronian through the storm and ice, but his gut instinct was still strong with worry. There was something wrong here…

"You three stay here," Optimus told them, "I'll wave for you to come down."

He descended, clutching a large battle-axe in his hands. His optics frosted over, so he melted the ice away with his inner temperature. He was only twenty metres away when he recognised Starscream.

The battle-axe almost dropped out of his hands in shock. Starscream had stocks imprisoning his hands and neck together, making him unable to move his arms. He was kneeling, facing away, and looked a defeated figure in the snow.

"Starscream," Optimus uttered.

Starscream didn't move or even acknowledge Optimus's arrival. It was then that Optimus noticed the locator beacon on the back of the Decepticon's head. For a stunned second, Optimus thought him dead.

"Starscream?" Optimus asked, more cautiously.

"Optimus…" Starscream answered, his voice far away and very weak, "Megatron sends his executioner at last…"

"_This message is for whatever Decepticon comes after me. I assume I'm speaking to Shockwave.__ When Thundercracker joined my crew twenty meta-cycles ago, he'd told me you'd left your post on Cybertron. I guess it's only a matter of time before you wind up here, like the rest of us. I tracked the Allspark to this system. I located Megatron. But the Autobots… our plans were crushed. Megatron is dead, the Allspark destroyed. I believed I had a chance to rebuild our empire—but… there's no sense in being a leader to a group willing to betray their commander at any turn. Optimus Prime, the body of Megatron, and the traitor called Wreckage are all in the same place. I go now to do battle. This may be my final act; the odds are certainly not in my favor… but the challenge is too good to resist."_

"He exiled you?" Optimus asked warily, not sure why he was surprised.

"His plan, I believe," Starscream muttered, "Is to have you kill me."

"_WRECKAGE!"_

Optimus stared at Starscream some more. "There are no other Decepticons?"

"Why would there be?"

Optimus waved a hand, and soon four Autobots surrounded the defeated Starscream.

"Which of you will do it, then?" Starscream whispered, not bothering to look up.

"Let's see," Arcee spat, "You've killed my sister before, and it was ironically through your own soldiers that she came back. You've also killed countless of my friends; Cliffjumper, Air Raid, Warpath… the list goes on. And the thing is Starscream, it was never a fair fight; you either attacked from behind or when they were unable to defend themselves. You're not just a Decepticon who deserves to be put to death, but you're a _coward _who deserves to be put to death."

"_You left me for dead. Now I'll make sure to return the favor."_

"Arcee," Optimus said softly, "You wish to kill a defenceless prisoner? It would make you no better than him."

"I know that," Arcee muttered, "But why not kill him when he can defend himself?"

Starscream wasn't really listening to them. His mind was way back, at a time just like this…

"_Ha! Mighty Starscream, Megatron's finest warrior. Look at you now!"_

"No," Optimus told her, "He must be given a fair trial, back on friendly ground. This might still be a trap…"

"A trial?" Arcee snarled, "Like the one that let Akil Farrah go free? It's only through the idiocy of the Wreckers that he didn't make it out of that city alive."

"_Your spark shall be my gift to him. Your life will no—"_

"_Megatron is dead," Starscream spat, "Just as you soon shall be. Give my regards to Dreadwing."_

_Dreadwing._

_Dreadwing…_

"Do not trouble yourself, Arcee," Optimus said to her, steel in the gaze he locked on Starscream, "It is highly doubtful that whatever trial is brought before Starscream will let him live."

_The Allspark exploded._

_The raw energon that had been consumed by the Cube ignited, tearing apart both the pedestal and the drones atop it. Starscream and the others were thrown about, smashing into the ground._

"_Up there!" Vortex cried, "It's a sni—" but his warning was cut off by his death at the hands of an electro-rifle._

"_There's a group of Autobots on that ridge!" Ramjet called out._

_Dreadwing was flustered from the explosion, but quickly got to his senses. "So deal with them!" he cried at Ramjet, "Drones, follow him!_

"_Terminate them!"_

"Terminate them," Starscream whispered into the blizzard. But Mirage, who was closest, heard it.

"What was that, Starscream?" the Autobot growled.

"What is it, Mirage?" Blazemaster asked.

"I swear he said 'terminate'," Mirage snarled, "Optimus, this is a trap!"

Optimus frowned at Starscream. He stared hard, as if he could see the very soul of the Decepticon.

"No… I believe Starscream is… remembering."

"Remembering what?" Blazemaster questioned.

"Only he knows."

_He saw the raging fires around him, as the drones tried to hold him down._

_He saw Dreadwing at the centre._

_Dreadwing._

_DREADWING._

"_This ends now!" he roared, leaping into the air above the drones. With unmatched fury and passion, he launched his entire barrage of missiles and bullets into the army of drones. Not a round went unspent as explosions tore upwards towards his feet. He roared, emptying every chamber and every launcher. He shot down like a bullet on another drone, crushing it with the talons on his feet._

"_Dreadwing is escaping!" Thundercracker cried from where he split apart two more drones with his axe._

_Starscream looked up, seeing Dreadwing alternate and shoot away from the battle as a jet._

"_Leave him to me."_

"Leave him to me," Starscream muttered, his temperature rising. His optics began to glow brighter.

"He's hallucinating," Blazemaster noted, "I detect no communications emanating from him."

"Starscream!" Optimus said loudly, "Snap out of it!"

Starscream slowly looked up, but he did not see Optimus. Instead, he saw Megatron.

His lord beamed down on him, a glare of utter triumph on his face, a mocking smile with too many teeth… teeth that could carve through titanium.

To his left, instead of seeing the short, angry figure of Mirage, there stood Ramjet, cradling an axe in his hand. His leering form shadowed Starscream, his optics betraying his sadistic nature, a twisted grin upon his face.

To his right, instead of seeing the small, vengeful figure of Arcee, there loomed Wreckage, arm blades as sharp as an atom. He wore no smile like the others, but his cold, hard gaze showed what contempt he had for the defeated Decepticon. He folded his arms, almost laughing at Starscream's position.

Traitors. To the Decepticons and to all they held dear.

Starscream felt something well up inside of him. It was something he had never felt before, not fully. Something so powerful, something so primal, that it threatened to tear him apart unless he unleashed it.

He tried to look to Cybertron's sky, but could no longer find Dreadwing.

"Where is he?" Starscream growled uncontrollably, spittle flying from his mouth, "Where is the traitor?"

"He's hallucinating badly," Blazemaster said again, "He seems to be going mad. Probably from the cold… and what he's been through…"

Blazemaster then peered over Starscream and looked into his optics, to see how manic they were.

It was the worst decision of his life.

For Starscream did not see Blazemaster appear into his view, he saw Dreadwing, his optic-face emotionless and blank. But Starscream did not care for the weapons that Dreadwing wielded or any smile their might have been upon his face. Starscream saw only a traitor, one who he hated with all his heart, no matter how long dead he was.

With a roar that shook the ice and shook the Autobots even more, Starscream fired up his boosters with what little power he had left and smashed into Blazemaster, knocking the Autobot into the snow.

"TRAITOR!" he roared, as Mirage, Arcee and Optimus Prime charged the Decepticon with his hands tied to his neck.

Starscream leapt up with a speed unmatched, even by Space Case, and kicked Mirage in the chin, sending the Autobot flying backwards. Next was Arcee, who raised her sword to defend herself. But Starscream head-butted the sword back into Arcee's face, causing her to scream in pain as the spikes dug into her head.

Optimus Prime punched Starscream in the gut, an attack that would have felled all except Shockwave, but Starscream did not feel it, instead using his limited flight to leap into the air and tear at Optimus's face with his talons. The Autobot cried out and fell back.

Starscream whirled around, roaring incoherently, spotting Blazemaster running for his life through the blizzard.

"_I'll finish up and meet with you, my lord," Thundercracker told him from where he dispatched more drones._

"AFFIRMATIVE!" Starscream bellowed across the Arctic, "GOOD LUCK, _COMMANDER._"

He chased after Blazemaster, his legs and boosters making him almost breeze across the snow.

_Enemies are one thing…_

…_Traitors are another._

* * *

><p>"NOOO!" Optimus roared after them, as Starscream hunted down Blazemaster across the frozen wastes.<p>

"Optimus!" Arcee called as she got to her feet, "They'll run into the ocean at that rate!"

"Where our friendly insect ship is waiting," Mirage said gleefully.

"Either way, Blazemaster might not make it," Optimus warned, alternating, "We've got to get Starscream before he kills Blazemaster!"

The three of them thundered across the snow and ice.

* * *

><p>Blazemaster had never felt so terrified. He was running across the strong ice with no idea of where he was going, but knowing that the rising volume of Starscream's energon-curdling roar meant that he wasn't getting there quick enough.<p>

"Going somewhere?" shouted the following demon. Blazemaster quickened up the pace.

He sighted the ocean through the blizzard, and in the distance, saw a black speck on the horizon.

The _Lionfish_. And it's railgun.

But as he saw it, Starscream was upon him, a vulture tearing at his flesh. The Decepticon hovered above him, his talons ripping at his shoulders and scalp, his broken engines spluttering to keep him in the air.

The roaring of three engines could be heard further behind.

Blazemaster reached the coast with Starscream still heckling him, and transformed. Starscream quickly pulled his feet away, lest they get caught in the alternation. But as soon as Blazemaster was a Hind, Starscream grabbed his rotors with his talons.

Blazemaster roared as they dropped, but Starscream managed to just keep them propelled enough to smash into an iceberg, his engines finally failing. They rolled over in the snow, the frost clouding their optics.

They slowly got up. They were on a small iceberg, in-between the landmass where the Autobots were, and the British ship with its powerful arsenal.

Blazemaster looked up at Starscream. _Starscream looked up at Dreadwing._

"Before we crash," Starscream shouted, his hands still firmly locked with his neck, "I'll see to it that you die by _my _hands first. Your actions cannot go _unpunished_."

"You're insane," Blazemaster muttered, standing up and readying his fists, "It's not Dreadwing! I'm Blazemaster!"

"_I merely did to you what you never had the _courage_ to do to _Megatron_!" Dreadwing cried, fighting back._

"Courage?" Starscream muttered, staring at Blazemaster with nothing but hate in his optics, "_Treason _is more like it. And the punishment for treason… is _death_!"

Starscream roared again and charged Blazemaster, who, realising he had no other choice, charged as well.

* * *

><p>"Optimus!" Arcee cried, pointing.<p>

Optimus transformed, looking across the water. "We would never make it in time," he muttered, "We might not have to."

"Optimus?" Mirage asked, confused.

"Normally, Blazemaster wouldn't stand a chance against Starscream," Optimus told him, "But with those restraints on, Blazemaster might actually beat him…"

Arcee winced as Blazemaster took a heavy kick to the head. "But he still might lose!"

Optimus frowned, yet again unsure of what to do. But a new voice echoed in his ear.

"_Optimus, this is Captain Ahab of the _HMS Lionfish_. It looks like your man is having a bit of trouble!_"

"Captain, please refrain from opening fire," Optimus ordered, "One of my soldiers is on there! I'll tell you when to open up!"

But as Optimus studied the battle, he honestly couldn't tell who was going to win.

* * *

><p>Blazemaster blocked another kick, before hitting another right into Starscream's jaw. The Decepticon roared.<p>

"_I was young…" Dreadwing muttered as he blocked another attack, "And all I ever wanted was to be part of your warriors… your Seekers! But you left me behind!"_

Starscream _ignored _him _and _continued _to _fight _back._

"Please Starscream…" Blazemaster whined, growing tired and weak.

"I'll tear the spark from your chest!" Starscream roared at two different people.

"_And all that I've done," Dreadwing whispered, falling back under Starscream's relentless slaughter, "Was it all for nought? I only did what I had to do because you were blind! The Allspark was not just some object that could be rebuilt with tin and iron! It was alive! And it gave us our sun…"_

Starscream stopped suddenly as Blazemaster fell to the ground, exhausted and beaten. The Autobot turned his head away for the final blow.

But Starscream didn't deliver it. He looked up at the sky, the blizzard clearing. He saw the sun.

_Our sun…_

_Not our sun. _Their _sun._

_And it was real… oh, so real._

Starscream turned to look at Blazemaster, a sorrowful look in his face.

"I see now…" he muttered, "You were just like me…"

Without a word, Blazemaster drew a deep breath and slid over the side of the iceberg, disappearing beneath the waves.

Starscream finally noticed the ship.

"DREADWI—"

_HMS Lionfish _opened up with every single one of her cannons and the iceberg exploded, the flames reaching a kilometre into the sky.

* * *

><p>As night fell, the hooks and cables on-board the destroyer finally lifted Blazemaster out of the water and brought him onto the ship. The Autobot shivered, his internal temperature having dropped in the cold of the waters.<p>

"You alright, mate?"

Blazemaster looked about him and saw sailors of the Royal Navy looking up with amazement written all over their faces. The one who spoke to him wore a smile.

"W-Who are you?" Blazemaster asked, shivering.

"I'm the captain," Ahab told him, "And you're welcome aboard my ship."

Blazemaster nodded and realised with sudden clarity that he had never felt so scared before. He had brushed with death yet again and survived. That sent some relief through him.

"The others…?"

"Over there," Ahab told him, pointing towards the distant shoreline, "We'll drop the anchor next to it and you can go and join them. We'll be there in around half an hour."

"What a-about Starscream?" Blazemaster asked, still shivering.

"If he survived an explosion that big," Ahab laughed, "Then he's at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, leaking water. Shame we can't recover the body…"

"Who cares?" Blazemaster suddenly laughed, feeling warm inside, "_I'm _alive! I still func—"

But at that moment the whole ship exploded.

Every crewmember burned where they stood, including the captain, their bodies turning to ash and their bones blackened by the heat. Blazemaster was knocked over from behind, the flames lapping his skin.

He looked upward, scared out of his wits, at where the bridge should have been.

Starscream stood there, his restraints gone, his glare one of indomitable malevolence.

Without a sound, Starscream plunged two claws on his left hand through Blazemaster's chest.

"Wanna bet?" the Decepticon snarled, as Blazemaster let out a small cry.

"_A real sun…"_

Blazemaster looked up, feeling nothing but pain and terror.

"The punishment is death," Starscream intoned, an angel of death, "Do you understand?"

Blazemaster gaped, his brain scrambling.

With one fluid motion, Starscream tore the spark from his chest. Blazemaster let out a dying sigh, and lay motionless.

His optics turned dark.

With a contemptuous throw, Starscream sent Blazemaster's spark into the depths of the Arctic Ocean, to never be found again.

Having fixed his engines beneath the waves, Starscream collected one last thing he need, before shooting off into the dark.

* * *

><p>And on the shoreline, having waited for many hours, the Autobots watched <em>HMS Lionfish <em>sink like lead into the sea.

Mirage hung his head.

Arcee fell to her knees.

And Optimus just stood still, and stared at the burning horizon.

* * *

><p>Stacy fell to her knees and wept. Marcus quickly dropped and hugged her tight.<p>

There was sorrow on every face on Diego Garcia, save for Mason and Ryder. But Stacy was the one who was filled with the most sadness, having been friends with him since they first met.

"Stacy… I…" but Marcus could not console her.

"I told him…" she cried, heaving with sobs, "I told him that the good… the good guys don't win."

She trembled.

"And Starscream… why?" she cried out, "Why did you kill him? Why? Why? WHY?"

And then her face was in Marcus's shoulder, and the tears would not stop.

* * *

><p>In the dark of the moon, Starscream returned.<p>

He came through the hole in the roof of the bridge and landed in front of the throne.

Megatron sat atop his throne, as if he had never moved, while Soundwave stood by his master's side.

"Starscream," Megatron growled, less than impressed, "I see you have survived."

Starscream did not respond, but simply stared, his red eyes blazing.

"My lord, I watched the whole event," Soundwave muttered, "Starscream surprised the Autobots that had come to claim him, Optimus Prime among them, and fought them. Rather impressively, he killed one."

"Oh really?" Megatron snarled, "Are you sure of that? You were not exactly standing there, were you Soundwave?"

"I have brought back the traitor's head myself," Starscream uttered and held out Blazemaster's skull, its mouth open in a never-ending scream.

Megatron frowned, not quite sure of this. Soundwave simply stared, silent.

"I do not recognise him as one of our soldiers," Megatron muttered, "How is he a traitor of the Decepticons, if he was never a soldier of ours?"

Starscream frowned slightly and looked at the skull.

Only then did he see that it was not Dreadwing's. It was just one Autobot.

And then it all became clear to him. He realised there was nothing else, and that he alone held the truth.

"He is a traitor, because he betrayed Cybertron," Starscream replied, "He betrayed its guardians and rulers; the Decepticons. All Autobots have committed treason, and the punishment for treason is death."

A shadow of a smile appeared on Megatron's face. Soundwave was now the one to frown.

"But were you not among them?" Soundwave intoned, "After all, you committed treason and betrayed Lord Megatron. So why should you not share the Autobot's fate?"

"Because I realise it now," Starscream replied, "How foolish and pathetic I was. I see there is no other way but Megatron's rule, and the Decepticons his champions. So in return for my never-ending service, which I swear on my spark, I give one traitor's life… in return for mine."

Megatron let out a low, menacing chuckle. "A good answer, Starscream. And I will consent to your return to the Decepticons, but if I even hear a whisper of any plot to betray me, I will not punish you with death… I will punish you with something far worse. So pray that day will never come."

"I need not pray," Starscream answered, "For I _know _that day will never come."

Megatron nodded slowly. "So be it. Leave."

Starscream turned and walked from the _Ark_'s bridge.

* * *

><p>His talons clutched at the end of the shard that had only too recently held him. He peered over the lunar surface, and looked to the Earth beyond.<p>

_There will be no sycophancy… no begging, no pleading. I am Starscream, and if my life is to serve Lord Megatron and destroy his enemies, so be it._

_I realise now that I am no leader… when my own troops betray me at every turn, what kind of a leader does it make me? I am nothing but a tool for Megatron to wield, to smite his enemies with… and if I am to remain in his service forever, so be it._

_If I am to be Starscream, Ruler of Cybertron, Lord of the Decepticons… no more, so be it._

And then he cast his mind back, to a desert where no-one but he and a tiny insect travelled.

He remembered her words.

"_He can't do that! Not to someone on your own side! That's like… betrayal! And since you're a commander that means it's like… I don't know, treason!"_

He looked towards Earth. He saw the clouds moving over never-still waters.

"_And I don't hate you. No-one should ever hate another; it's too petty."_

Starscream looked at where he stood, where he had been hung before, for all to see.

The humiliation.

The hate.

The hunger for vengeance…

_But… I deserved it didn't I? I committed treason against Lord Megatron… I deserved to be crucified._

_But… what if I hadn't failed? What if I had ruled? Then Megatron would have been the one hanging over the Moon…_

_But… I failed. And that's that. This is the life you live. There can be no changing it._

His gaze returned to Earth. His eyes flickered with something…

_But… there are allies on Earth, and more on this Moon. I could seek them out. By my side they would join, and in time, I would have my kingdom…_

He looked back from Earth, where the insects ruled, to the _Ark, _where Megatron ruled. And back to Earth.

"…Regardless of the location," he muttered.

…

"_We're all petty. And your views on me may change in future… just to warn you."_


	16. Among the Living

Woah: I'm writing this at half past one in the morning. *yawn*

Anyhow, you wouldn't believe from the length of this chapter that I _had to cut it down a bit_. Seriously. Between the beginning and the lyric credits there was supposed to be another 2,000-ish words! I also concentrated a lot more on the action than the story for this one; for me, this is a 'Battle Episode!' Rargh!

Thank you, **Megan666 **for another lovely review! And thank you all for reading!

* * *

><p>It was a strange sensation, dreaming, yet being aware you were dreaming.<p>

The trouble with being aware that you're dreaming is that you instantly awake, whether you like to or not. But there are some dreams so special and so detailed that sometimes you don't wake instantly, and you can enjoy the vain illusion until daybreak.

For Marcus, this dream felt special. He flew atop the world, soaring over oceans and deserts, plucking leaves from trees he had never seen before, splashing with dolphins. In a way, he was sort of controlling it; he could reach out to touch the dolphins, yet he could not control where he was heading. This scared him slightly; what if he was heading to the Moon?

"Marcus, relax…" came a soothing voice from far away.

Marcus didn't hear it, but if he did then he forgot it instantly. But he suddenly felt a lot calmer and focused, so he left the ocean and found himself flying through a sweaty monsoon over a decrepit jungle, the rain soaking his face and clothes, and the sweat covering the rest.

But then he was out and over mountains, mountains of pure white and sheer cliffs, blizzards of unbeatable ferocity and winds that howled and bit at his skin. Worried, he lowered his altitude and found himself face-to-face with the last thing on Earth he wanted to see.

A Decepticon.

Thundercracker.

Marcus gulped, but knew that the blue monster could not and would not hurt him. His dark-blue armour reflected both the sun in the sky and the sun in the snow, illuminating him like some wrathful deity. His sharp teeth were terrifying to behold, as were his cold, red eyes.

Thundercracker turned and looked at him, and shivers ran down the boy's spine.

_**Boy. **_The words came from Thundercracker's lips, yet the voice was one Marcus could never describe, a sound so vigorous yet so meek, a sound so rich yet so humble, a sound so powerful yet so… dormant.

"You're not Thundercracker, are you?" Marcus realised.

_**You are quick to catch on. Excellent. **_Thundercracker grinned. _**And those fools who locked you in your own mind cannot see us either.**_

"You've been in my mind ever since that sewer," Marcus said quickly, remembering, "Who are you?"

_**Incorrect. We are not 'you'. We are us. But we are a part of you.**_

"I don't understand," Marcus muttered, angry.

_**We wouldn't expect you to. For now, just play blind and foolish, and we will lead you to your own reward.**_

"When I get out, why shouldn't I tell my friends that you exist?"

_**Because we would kill you. **_Thundercracker grinned again, his carnivorous teeth shining brilliantly in the winter moonlight.

"How did it suddenly turn to night?" Marcus asked, looking around him.

_**We can control limited aspects of your mind. A shame it is very limited.**_

"You still haven't told me who you are."

_**Incorrect. We are not 'you'. We are us. But we are a part of you.**_

"Whatever," Marcus muttered, "But why choose Thundercracker?"

_**Why did we choose this creature? Because it is a form you are most uncomfortable with. It is also the form of the cybertronian who resurrected this beautiful war. So as a way of respecting him, we chose this form.**_

"Why are you here?"

_**To help you on the path to victory. See there…**_

Thundercracker pointed across the mountain range toward one particular mountain that struck the night sky like a spear point; the light reflecting off the snow gave it the illusion of a pyramid of silver.

"What's there?"

_**Something you do not necessarily wish to seek, yet is something you wish to find.**_

Marcus frowned and flew away from the demonic alien. He flew past the other mountains before arriving at the silver mountain. He shivered slightly, before flying into it.

Inside he found what he had been looking for, yet did not really care for.

A Pillar.

But that was not all. As Marcus looked around, he saw two… three… four…

All in all, there were five Pillars within the mountain.

He nodded to himself, pleased with his success.

"Alright, you got that?" he asked thin air.

He did not receive a reply, but simply opened his eyes.

He was back in the hangar, surrounded by familiar faces, the CVD powering down.

"You did excellent, Marcus," Gerin exclaimed, "This is brilliant work!"

"We got a ping on five Pillars in the Himalayas," Randall told everyone from a computer screen, "No other cybertronian signals."

"The Decepticons haven't found it yet?" Mason asked, surprised.

"Apparently not."

"Well it's only a matter of time," Mason grumbled, "Where is it exactly?"

"Tibet."

"Do we have a HARP Tibet?"

"No. But the mountain is relatively close to an army camp and railway station."

"Army camp? Excellent; get those Pillars ready and wrap up warm!"

"Who's going?" Marcus asked.

"Everyone we can spare," Mason told him, "For five Pillars, we'll give the Decepticons one hell of a beating!"

* * *

><p>The shadows clung to his skin, swathing the figure in darkness. He paced down a decrepit corridor, each step leaving tiny amounts of sound for his highly sensitive audio receptors to pick up.<p>

He entered the throne room. Atop the captain's chair sat Megatron, whose optics were shut off, resting in a power restoration phase. His mouth was blue, liquid dripping from it, where he had eaten some of the incredibly powerful energon within the Pillars. They had many to spare.

"Lord Megatron."

Two evil eyes flickered on. They slowly trailed down toward the new arrival.

"Soundwave," Megatron drawled, feeling almost content, "And what has occurred so that my company may grow? You wish to dine at my pleasure?"

"Five Pillars have been located in, no doubt a stockpile we had a while ago," Soundwave intoned, "Many Autobots and humans are converging there. Permission to dispatch a taskforce to retrieve them?"

"Your last taskforce," Megatron slurred, "Under Bludgeon… suffered casualties. They rust in the desert."

"We lost only a couple of our number," Soundwave dismissed, "And Bludgeon is more than willing to make up for his mistake."

"Why should we even follow these Autobots…?" Megatron droned, and Soundwave realised his master had taken an overdose of the powerful energon, "This venture would leave their base undefended, no?"

"The base is unassailable, my lord," Soundwave admitted, "And their network is manual access only, so I can't shut them down from where I remain in the sky."

Megatron did not seem to be listening. He was inspecting his claws, sharpening them with his teeth.

"My lord," Soundwave tried again, "Optimus Prime is with them. This could be our chance to end the war once and for all."

Megatron took notice of that. He looked down on Soundwave with something akin to faint amusement in his eyes.

"Are you calling me a coward, Soundwave?" he intoned with a malicious voice, "Like Starscream before you?"

Soundwave weighed his responses in a single second. He quickly realised the best answer.

"Maybe," he replied, throwing his lord off guard, "So what would you say to that?"

"I WOULD KILL YOU!" Megatron roared, his voice echoing around the ship like the bellow of a giant, leaning forward in his chair. He sat back and glared at Soundwave, his optics intense.

"Then, my lord, should we not wipe out the Autobots for good? Send me and my forces, and we shall return with Prime's head… and the five Pillars in tow."

Megatron let out a booming laugh, one of genuine amusement. It rang throughout the ship, every Decepticon hearing it with a mix of different emotions. The majority were terrified.

Soundwave wasn't terrified. But now he was nervous. And he was very rarely nervous.

"You think to take Prime's head?" Megatron chuckled, pushing himself off his throne, "STARSCREAM!"

A minute later, the Decepticon air commander shot down from the roof and gazed around.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" he asked.

"Could you kill Optimus Prime?"

Starscream thought about this for a moment. Then:

"If I had the right amount of timing and preparation, then yes."

"What if I told you to do it now?"

"Then no, my lord, I would not be able to kill him."

"Then, Soundwave," Megatron uttered, towering over the smaller Decepticon, "If Starscream, a more capable warrior then you, cannot kill Optimus Prime… what hope would you have?"

"I would use my cunning, my lord," Soundwave replied.

"Cunning is only half of what a commander needs," Megatron snarled, "He needs strength! Power! And he can only gain those two by gaining respect…"

"Respect, sir?" Soundwave questioned, confused.

"Soundwave, you will not lead a taskforce to Earth to retrieve these Pillars," Megatron ordered, "I will."

Both commanders looked up in surprise. Megatron had not been to Earth since he had been resurrected.

"My lord," Soundwave said humbly, "You do not need to worry yourself with this matter—"

"DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A COWARD, SOUNDWAVE?" Megatron roared, grabbing the smaller Decepticon and throwing him to the floor.

"I AM LORD MEGATRON!" he bellowed round the ship, "AND I WILL NOT STAY ON THIS CURSED SHIP ANY LONGER! GIVE ME WAR, AND I SHALL DELIVER VICTORY!"

Decepticons of all shapes, sizes and power peered round doors and holes.

"Now, my fellow Decepticons," he uttered, "WE GO NOW TO THE ROCK BELOW! WE WILL WIPE OUT THOSE FOOLISH AUTOBOTS! WE SHALL HAVE VICTORY!"

They roared their support, and Megatron led them from the ship, toward the Earth. Every single one of them.

Soundwave looked up and found Starscream looming over them.

"The view's not quite satisfying from down there, is it?" Starscream spat with a triumphant grin on his face.

Soundwave said nothing.

As the first rays of light shined off the Himalayas, every Decepticon still alive headed for those mountains.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 16: Among the Living<span>

_Fire! Hot fire! Purge the world with fire!  
>Damnation is the price he'll pay, for an evil man's desire!<br>Good, versus evil! The stand to vanquish evil!  
>Man can only live one way, that place right in the middle.<em>

—**Among the Living**

* * *

><p>New winter gear. Depleted neptunium rounds. HPIE missile launchers. Armour-piercing bullets. Shell casings for ¼ tonne HESH rounds. QSTGs, also known as boom-sticks. Ropes, hooks, claws and a lot of other climbing equipment. Compasses. Maps. Water bottles. Tents—

"We won't be gone for long, will we?" Mirage asked as he looked at all the equipment arrayed around the room. Every soldier HARP could spare was packing what he needed for the journey (and, possibly, battle) ahead. It seemed like a lot of stuff.

"You can never tell," Lennox replied from where he was fitting on his winter camouflage, a mix of white and blue armour, "The battle of Mogadishu was only supposed to take half an hour. They were still fighting the very next day."

"But still," Mirage argued, "There isn't a lot of room up in the mountains; one side is gonna die, the other isn't."

"Only if there's going to be a battle," Lennox reminded him, "For all we know, the Decepticons have no idea that these Pillars exist."

Mirage gave Lennox a dark look. "Soundwave has eyes and ears everywhere," the Autobot reminded him, "He's probably recording this conversation right now."

"I know; weird, isn't it?" Lennox replied with a smile.

Mirage frowned. "What's so funny?"

"We can't do anything about it, can we? We need to maintain communication, and we can't find or get at Soundwave, so… that's that."

"Really, it's General Cockslapper that's the problem," Ryder said as we walked past, "I told him where Soundwave is, but he seems adamant on being an obstructive bureaucrat."

Mirage and Lennox watched him walk away, not replying.

"That kid needs some lessons in discipline," Mirage muttered.

"I really don't understand what he's still doing here," Lennox admitted.

"Something about 'knowing valuable information that could harm the world's people'," said Lieutenant Gabriel Robertson from behind Lennox, "So we have to put up with his snobbery for a while longer."

Mirage narrowed his optics. "Funny you should mention snobbery, _lieutenant_," Mirage almost spat.

Robertson sighed. "Yes, funny that. Maybe I could get a couple of lessons from you."

"Maybe you need a couple of lessons in something else," Mirage uttered, cracking his knuckles.

They stared each other down, forcing Lennox to intercede.

"You guys need to calm down," he ordered, "Let out some steam… in fact, I want you two to remain close together while we're out on this mission. It might build some bridges and make sure you two realise that _we need to work together_. The only reason the Autobots have beaten back Megatron and laid him to waste twice is because of us helping. And the only reason we aren't insect paste is because Optimus Prime and his soldiers have helped us through this war… both humans and Autobots need to work together to keep us all alive."

But despite the speech, both Mirage and Robertson glared at each other with venomous eyes.

* * *

><p>In the deep dark night, a figure stood atop the world.<p>

To stand atop the world is a glorious feat. To know that you look down upon everyone else, to feel the glorious satisfaction of pride and accomplishment; you have done something which only a handful of people have ever achieved. And no-one can take that away.

But this figure did not care for pride or satisfaction. In fact, he could imagine several hundred places where he'd rather be at that very moment. Unlike others of his kind, he wore a cloak to conserve any heat released from his armour; it was simple white tarpaulin, but the colour did not matter as the snow had covered it completely. Only his head, his feet and the hand holding the tarpaulin on his body betrayed the fact that he was on the mountainside. Still as a statue, he watched the camp far below with focused optics.

He saw a blue light echo far below. He let out the ghost of a smile.

"Soundwave… they've arrived."

"_Good work, Sideways. We are coming in to land a mile from the objective._"

Sideways turned his head slightly and saw several comets streak from the sky and smash into a different mountainside and the snow surrounding it. The sound of their arrival was blocked out by the heavy blizzard.

Turning back to the base, Sideways drew a sniper rifle off his back and aimed carefully…

* * *

><p>"So who are these people?" Optimus asked as they walked out of the light.<p>

Lennox hugged his furs tighter and looked around. It was a base, consisting of warehouses and storage buildings, with a train station on the side of the mountain, complete with a long locomotive. Tibetan soldiers looked at the new arrivals suspiciously, while hungry dogs barked angrily.

"This is an army base, generously loaned by the Tibetan government for one night," Lennox replied, "It watches the Chinese border and holds up one of their few radar stations. So if the Decepticons suddenly roll in, try not to blow it up."

"Cheery place," Robertson noted.

"Squadrons four and five, cover the east wall," Bumblebee ordered, "Arcee and Sideswipe, watch the train station and check the mountainside!"

"I got a bad feeling about this," Robertson muttered, staring up at the far mountain on the east side.

"Scared, lieutenant?" Mirage sneered.

"Cold," Robertson replied, gritting his teeth, "And nervous; who knows what's at the summit?"

"Snow," Mirage spat, "And the only thing you puny humans should be nervous of is pneumonia."

"Mirage," Optimus warned in their tongue, "You do not have to like the humans, but please be respectful. A guest must respect those who allow us to stay."

"But guests must eventually leave," Mirage muttered.

"Bring up those cannons!" Epps ordered some of the troops as HARP began to move to defend the camp. He turned to one of the Tibetan soldiers. "You speak English?" he asked, to no response, "Co-ver. The. Va-lley. The valley. The. North. Do you under-stand?

The Tibetan wasn't sure if the American was serious or simply mocking him. In the end, he just walked away and began ordering his fellow soldiers around to the most defensible position. Which coincidentally turned out to be facing the northern valley.

There was also something else… a sound like a deep rumbling, far away.

"You hear that?" Lennox asked Optimus.

"I hear many things, Colonel Lennox, but I must assume that the particular sound you are wishing to discuss is the current drilling operation into the mountain." Optimus pointed down the northern valley to a particular mountain. Lennox recognised the icy summit, and knew it was the one Marcus had found. Around it were several ant-sized people, with a large amount of excavation gear.

"It must have been that," Lennox muttered, but what he had really heard had sounded a bit different…

"Bill," Epps moaned from behind the furs he was hugging, "I tell you, I'm missing the desert."

Lennox smiled, but thought rather differently. So far, this beat getting chased down by a cybertronian scorpion and getting their base blown to pieces. In fact, in his furs and winter gear, he did not seem to feel most of the cold; he almost felt content.

* * *

><p>But Sideways intended to make that feeling disappear as quickly as possible.<p>

"Soundwave, they have recovered the Pillars from the mountain. There are five."

"_Report to us when they reach the base. That's when we will launch our assault._"

On the mountain to the east of the base, Sideways had a perfect view over every aspect of the human's and Autobots' operation. He trained his rifle on both the convoy containing the Pillars, and the base containing the majority of HARP.

He heard some scuffling below him. Turning his head ever so slowly, he looked down.

Mixmaster and his friend Deadlift had scaled the mountain, carrying between them a strange sort of artillery piece. It was a wonder how they got it this far without dropping it.

On an outcrop below him, he watched as they squeezed the mortar into the cliff. Both of them held onto the mountainside, while their free limbs began preparing the artillery.

"…I'm telling ya," Deadlift told him, "After this operation, we gotta do it! We have to spend one day in the limelight!"

"Unless, of course, we win," Mixmaster reminded him, "We could wipe out all the Autobots here, and then we'll only be fighting insects."

"Pfft!" Deadlift dismissed, "When was the last time the Decepticons ever defeated the Autobots? Don't worry, once we fail to get these Pillars and Flatline winks us out of here, we'll launch our assault."

"And take out Soundwave on the way down," Mixmaster chuckled.

"Please shut up," Sideways grumbled.

Mixmaster and Deadlift jumped out of their skins. Mixmaster had a look of complete shock on his face and it was a miracle he held on to the mountain to stop himself from falling. Deadlift wasn't that used to miracles and so got no such treatment.

He fell, tumbling and rolling down the mountainside, but much to his pride, he didn't cry out. With barely the slightest instance of control, he managed to stick a blade into the hard rock and ice of the mountainside. It wedged in, but not tightly, and so Deadlift was hanging by the skin of his teeth, only seconds away from falling to his death several hundred feet down.

"Where'd you come from?" Mixmaster hissed at Sideways, who stood over his superior officer with his cloak billowing in the blizzard.

"I was always here," Sideways muttered, "You're intruding on my mountain… sir."

"MIXMASTER," Deadlift whispered as loudly as he could, "HELP. ME."

Mixmaster took one look over the outcrop and realised that Deadlift was too far away to lift up himself.

"Give me your rifle!" Mixmaster ordered. Sideways, unable to ignore the command of a superior officer, obliged.

Mixmaster gingerly lowered the rifle to where Deadlift could reach it. Inch by inch, it descended.

"_Hurry up_!" Deadlift whispered urgently, feeling his grip on the knife beginning to slip.

Using his clawed feet to hold himself to the outcrop, Mixmaster began lowering himself as well, the rifle almost at its intended target.

But when the rifle was only a few inches from where Deadlift was hanging, the knife came loose and he fell.

Mixmaster fell as well and in the slightest of seconds, Deadlift grabbed the falling rifle, Mixmaster clung on to the other end, and Mixmaster was grabbed by something else.

Sideways held the lieutenant with one hand, the squat sniper struggling with all his might to hold on to Mixmaster.

The three of them formed a chain, swaying in the blizzard like a weightless piece of string. Slowly, but surely, Sideways pulled Mixmaster up, until the lieutenant's feet felt the safety of the outcrop and dug in. After that, Mixmaster, although no less squat than Sideways, was strong enough to lift Deadlift by his own.

When they were all on the outcrop (a tight squeeze) Mixmaster handed the rifle back with a scowl.

"You should have warned us beforehand," he growled, "And what is that garb you wear?"

Sideways looked at the tarpaulin that he was wrapped in. Although the snow had fallen off when he had leapt, it was white as a sheet.

"It is a cloak."

"Only insects dress themselves," Mixmaster spat, "You're disgraceful."

"It is a necessity," Sideways growled in response, "If you plan to keep over-watch with that mortar for a while, then you may find it gets… cold. The cloak helps… sir."

He climbed back to his position, which was only a few metres above the other two, and was soon invisible in the snow and ice.

"It is chilly," Deadlift whined.

"Shut up and ready the mortar," Mixmaster replied, "We need to test this new formula. If it works, then we'll be able to go ahead with the plan…"

"How much do you think he heard?" Deadlift whispered as they positioned the mortar.

"You know what? I don't think he cares an inch."

Sideways moved the scope over a fuel truck…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, far below…<p>

"Astrotrain."

"Yes sir?"

"Do you see the locomotive station?"

"Yes sir…?"

"Where does it end?"

"A few miles to the south, sir."

"I doubt Lord Megatron can stop the Autobots from loading the Pillars onto a train… do you understand?"

It took only a second, but Astrotrain then let out a grin of terrifying foreboding.

"Oh yes sir… oh yes."

* * *

><p>"The Pillars are here!" Epps called over the snowstorm, "Contact Diego Garcia!"<p>

Optimus sent a call.

"Ratchet, do you read me?"

"_Opti…hid…bad…tion._"

"Ratchet? We need to get out of here."

"_Optim…we've got a bad…tion…jamming…_"

Optimus frowned. He turned to the others.

"I can't get Ratchet; there's too much interference. The storm and possibly… other things."

Lennox turned to look around at the Autobots and humans. Only Ratchet and a skeleton crew had remained back at the base. And yet somehow the numbers here didn't seem enough.

"Each of you, to your walls!" Lennox ordered, "A Decepticon attack could be imminent."

The Autobots and soldiers all ran to their positions, carrying mortars and bazookas and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Lennox took up position on the north wall, along with Optimus, and looked down over the valley.

_The Decepticons would never try an attack from the north, would they? The valley is wide and, even with the storm, completely open; it's a killzone. They can't come from the west, unless they like descending mountains… and the south is a sheer drop to whatever lies far below. So it's either this valley, or the east…_

"Epps, move your squads to the east wall," Lennox said into his com-link.

"_Who'll watch the west mountain?_"

"I don't think we need to—"

"DECEPTICON!"

They all turned at the voice, coming from the east wall.

_I knew it._

* * *

><p>Optimus stared. He had not thought that <em>he<em> would ever show his face upon the Earth again.

_And yet there he is… standing atop the world, as if he owns it. This foolish, maniacal creature has at last returned to us, to be rid of us upon this bleak landscape… here among the teeth of the Earth may our conflict end at last._

Megatron stood atop the rise to the east. He had drawn a blaster from his back, a long claw sliding backwards out of the end of the weapon, a hook to pull and maim. He neither shivered nor shook at the cold that bit his armour, but his red optics glittered in the howling wind. His twisted body was covered in ice, and he stood as still as a statue.

From his left a figure crawled up beside him. Optimus felt his body flow with rage as he recognised Starscream, the creature that had killed Blazemaster and beheaded him. The air commander was crouched low, making his body as closed as possible against the wind and snow. He snarled at the defences, his left hand becoming a missile launcher, six warheads hungry for immolation.

From the right of Megatron came Soundwave, the much smaller figure slowly pacing to join his lord. He did not crouch low, using Megatron as an unwitting shield against the blizzard, while his cunning eyes appraised the defences. Optimus saw his jawline move slightly, and the Autobot realised he was chuckling. His animals came with him: Laserbeak perched on his shoulder, while Ratbat and Buzzsaw took hold on an outstretched arm. Rumble and Ravage came up beside him, growling and mad.

And then the Decepticon army appeared on the ridge.

On Soundwave's right came Fracture, then Barricade, then a limping Bludgeon, then Dirt Boss, Sonar, Mindwipe, Storm Surge, insect Reverb, big Reverb, Tankor, Overload, Rampage, Crankcase, Crowbar and Hatchet. On Starscream's left came Thundercracker, Flatline, Space Case, Ruination, Skystalker, Overcast, Jetstorm and Skywarp.

"Oh, _shit_," Epps muttered, "Optimus; we can't take them all down!"

Optimus frowned, and didn't need a second glance to see that Epps was right. But maybe if they got Megatron…

"Arcee," he called, "Are the charges set?"

"Yes boss," she replied.

"What charges?" Lennox asked, confused.

"I've set—" but before Optimus could explain, a sniper shot rang out through the blizzard.

A fuel truck behind them exploded, a fireball roaring into the sky, turning snow to steam in microseconds.

And as the sound of a mortar being fired was heard, the Decepticons roared and charged.

"HERE THEY COME!" Lennox roared.

And battle began.

* * *

><p>Sandbags are useless in several ways. But one of them is not when they are not filled with sand.<p>

The sandbags that ringed the camp in fifteen-foot high walls were filled with mud. In dryer countries, this would have made a poor substitute. But in the mountain ranges of Tibet (where sand is quite unavailable), the cold freezes the wet soil like rock, until you could break your fist upon it. The sandbags piled high in the camp could be broken by neither bullet nor knife.

But they were nothing compared to the trampling feet of towering titans.

The Decepticons didn't leap the barricades, nor did they blast them apart. They ran through them, roaring, smashing them aside like leafs. They thundered into the compound, which was already on fire from mortar shells and the aftermath of the exploded fuel truck. Megatron and Optimus Prime smashed into each other in the centre of the camp, in an impact that shook the foundations of very building within the compound, and knocked any humans around them to the ground.

But it was obviously a losing battle from the start. Bumblebee, Mirage, Sideswipe and Arcee were held up by Starscream, Thundercracker and Soundwave (who's animals also charged in), while the other Decepticons blew apart the humans and smashed through the buildings.

The first cybertronian casualty was Storm Surge, who charged at an armoured vehicle and knocked it over. Flushed with his success, he stood still for only a moment and that was when a mortar shell hit him. His head exploded and the rest of his body began to wither away and rust. Soon, it was nothing but bronze dust.

But petty Decepticon casualties did not change much, and soon the soldiers of HARP and their Tibetan allies were falling back, the Decepticons giving chase. In another lucky hit, Sideswipe threw one of his blades at the mob of attacking Decepticons, finding big Reverb's head and splitting it in half.

Optimus blocked another swing from Megatron, the Decepticon's blade arm slamming against Prime's keyblade.

Optimus took a quick glance around and realised the pointlessness of the situation. He knew where the priorities were.

"Mirage, get to the train!" he cried, as Megatron launched another strong attack, "Get the Pillars out of here!"

"Lieutenant!" Lennox roared at Gabriel Robertson, while firing a sabot round at Sonar, "Take your men and go with him! The Pillars take top priority!"

Any other time those orders had to come through, Mirage and Robertson would have moaned about the company they had to keep. But this was win or lose, victory or defeat, life or death… and there would be no hesitation.

"Sanders, Ermine, come on!" Robertson roared to his squad commanders, and they and their men followed suit. More mortar rounds came flooding in, smashing into the ground near the soldiers. Several men under Robertson's command were drenched in a strange liquid, that rusted their weapons and grenades to dust, but left themselves relatively unharmed.

They got to the train station, where Lieutenant Bowe commanded his own set of (smaller) mortar teams. Shell after shell was launched into the Decepticon mass, but the explosives were too small to do any proper damage. But Bowe knew that raindrops together could strike with the force of lightning, so he commanded his men to keep at it.

"Bowe, me and Mirage are taking the Pillars out of here!" Robertson roared over the battle, "Is there a driver?"

"Yes!" Bowe roared back, "And he's begging to get the fuck out of here!"

"Right!"

Robertson leapt to where the five Pillars were held to a flatbed car with netting, while the other soldiers leapt onto other flatbed cars. Mirage landed on the last one on the train, with the Pillars being on the second-to-last.

"ERMINE!" Robertson cried, "GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

As his sergeant raced towards the front carriage, Mirage turned to him.

"We should be fighting!" he roared in defiance, "Not running!"

"The Pillars are what matter!" Robertson cried in response, "Otherwise the fighting is pointless!"

"It's always been pointless!" Mirage argued, his voice carrying both volume and rage, "But my friends are outnumbered!"

"They're my friends too!" Robertson shouted, "Don't forget that! This is what they want!"

But Mirage looked back, and all he saw was impending defeat.

* * *

><p>Sideways quickly realised that trying to shoot the Autobots was impossible. They fought so blindingly fast, that he spent more time trying to line up the scope with their heads then actually shooting them. So instead, he aimed for the human soldiers that seemed content to just crouch and shoot. Although there was not much tactical difference in picking off insects one at a time, Sideways felt a strange pride at these 'skillshots'. Besides, they made pretty little red explosions.<p>

"Nice shot!" Deadlift cried from below, "You took out a whole building with that one!"

"Let's turn our sights to the locomotive yard," Mixmaster replied, training his vision on the train station at the bottom of the far mountain, "Hey look! The Pillars!"

Sideways turned his vision to the train station. And saw the train moving. With the Pillars on-board. Towards a tunnel in the mountain.

"Scrap," he muttered, knowing that if the Pillars were lost, the fight might as well be over.

"Yeah," Deadlift sighed, "At this rate, the Autobots are going to get away with the Pillars."

Now in every sentient creature's life, there comes a choice.

The choice that will change their life forever.

For a human, it could be a wedding vow, or to say goodbye to someone who you really never should have said goodbye to. It is always a choice that has just two simple options; although most of the time they are glossed over or confusing to look at, they end up with the same two consequences; fly or burn.

Fly or burn.

To burn is easy. That is why it is the most popular option. It requires little work, no self-sacrifice, no… courage. But the end result is always poor and always childish… and it never produces happiness, not the least satisfaction. And when you're old and foolish, you will wonder at what could have been, what you could have achieved… and what you wouldn't have lost. If you choose to burn, the only company you'll keep are tears… or six feet of dirt.

But to fly is hard. It is hard because it requires mastery of fear, effort never before matched and the sacrifice of a life left behind. It is always fraught with peril and danger and could result in burning as well, if you are not willing to perform the before mentioned three things. But the rewards are wondrous, glorious even… for there is always a paradise waiting, no matter your agenda, ethics or morals. But this paradise is beyond any road that can be travelled, any sea that could be navigated… to reach a paradise everyone dreams of, but only few reach, means you have to _fly_. It is always filled with risk… but the hard-fought end could be worth every second.

Sideways made the choice of his life upon that mountain.

He chose to fly.

And fly he did.

So much to the shock of Mixmaster and Deadlift, Sideways fell past the both of them, cloak discarded, freefalling off the mountain.

The wind and snow smashed into him like a hurricane, the rising mountainside rushing to meet him. In the split second choice between life and death, he transformed, his Audi R8 form burning rubber as it shot down the mountainside, the force of gravity helping his propulsion.

He shot over the rise where the Decepticon army had appeared, and took to the sky.

* * *

><p>The train chugged forward, painfully slow.<p>

"Speed it up!" Robertson roared.

"It's steam powered!" Ermine replied, "It'll take a few seconds to warm up!"

Robertson leant his head out over the platform and looked down the tracks. The train consisted of many carriages, some containers, some flatbeds, before ending with a steam engine right out of a fairy-tale. Beyond that was a tunnel leading into the mountain.

"What the…" Sanders muttered, and Robertson turned to look.

An Audi R8 shot over the battle towards the train.

The train picked up speed and began to hurry towards the tunnel.

Optimus could only watch as the Audi smashed into the train station, killing Bowe's mortar teams with his descent. Bowe struggled to run, so Sideways put him under his tires.

The steam engine entered the tunnel.

Sideways, still in his car form, _leapt _onto the tracks.

"GO!" Robertson screeched.

The locomotive shot into the tunnel.

Sideways roared along with his engine and his tires shredded the rubber right off of them. The metal wheels sprang onto the tracks and with a cry of triumph, Sideways screamed into the tunnel.

The chase was on.

* * *

><p>As soon as the train entered the tunnel, Optimus knew what to do.<p>

"Everyone!" he roared, "TO THE NORTH!"

Arcee understood and quickly grabbed the other Autobots and led them away. Lennox did the same, motioning the Tibetans to follow them as quickly as possible. The soldiers followed, running for their lives, leaving behind bewildered and confused Decepticons.

He knocked away Megatron's blaster, kicking the Decepticon leader away. Optimus pulled something small out of his armour.

He pushed a button on it.

The mountainside behind him exploded.

As rocks the size of football fields came down upon them, Optimus charged towards the northern valley, following the other Autobots and humans. The mountainside came down on the camp, the radar dishes too, swallowing it up. Megatron roared as he was consumed by the falling mountain.

Starscream and his Seekers didn't escape either, taking to the wing and being smashed into the ground for their efforts. Rumble tried to protect his master by smashing the rocks with his horns, but the boulders were unstoppable, crushing Soundwave as well.

Eventually, every single Decepticon was brought under the mountain.

When the last boulder finally rolled to a stop, Optimus turned back to look.

There was absolutely nothing left that was salvageable. The base was eradicated, the tunnel blocked, the Decepticons crushed. The Pillars had got away safely.

And, maybe, they had wiped out the Decepticon menace forever.

"You think Megatron would survive that?" Epps muttered, out of breath from the dash.

"He's survived death itself," Optimus replied solemnly, "I doubt a landslide, no matter the magnitude, would keep him down. But they will be delayed for a while, at least."

"So what now?" Lennox asked.

"As I cannot raise Ratchet, we cannot teleport out of here," Optimus said, "So we had better put as many miles between us and this battle as possible… then we'll try and link up with Mirage and the others."

"I saw a Decepticon chase after them," Epps said, "They might not make it…"

"Mirage has a stable platform from which to fire, and he has Robertson's platoon," Lennox replied, "I think they can handle one Decepticon."

But when Optimus turned back to look at the aftermath of the rocky cascade, he wasn't so sure.

* * *

><p>"You know what a clusterfuck is?" Deadlift cried, panicking, "Well, this is what would happen if a clusterfuck fucked another clusterfuck; THIS IS SECOND-GENERATION-STYLE CLUSTERFUCK!"<p>

Mixmaster and Deadlift had only watched with horror as the mountain had completely eradicated the Decepticon army. The only Decepticon other than them who had not been crushed must have been Sideways, who disappeared down the tunnel in the nick of time.

"Shut up!" Mixmaster replied, although he was scared too, "I'm the commanding officer here, so I'll make the decisions from now on!"

Deadlift looked up with a startled realisation, completely forgetting his fear.

"You mean… whoa!" he cried, "You're now Lord Mixmaster!"

Mixmaster looked down on his closest friend and realised what this meant.

"Then, as my first act of my unarguable command, we must head down there and see if there are any survivors!"

"What about…" but Deadlift's voice trailed off as he saw the members of HARP disappear into the northern valley.

"Hmm?"

"Never mind," Deadlift replied, "Actually, what happens if Megatron's still alive?"

Mixmaster's face turned glum at that. "Well… if he's still alive, then we might have to put a stop to that…"

* * *

><p>When they eventually reached the rockslide, they really saw how big it was.<p>

"What did Optimus have hidden in that mountain?" Mixmaster asked himself, "A plutonium mine?"

Any human caught under the weight of a mountain would have been reduced to a fine paste, but cybertronians were made of tougher stuff; metal, which can't be turned to paste.

"Look!" Deadlift gasped, pointing to a clawed hand sticking out of the rubble.

"Yep," Lord Mixmaster sighed, "They're all dead; this means that I cannot be challenged for my crown—"

"His hand's twitchin'!" Deadlift cried.

Mixmaster let out a grumble, but realised that if they didn't rescue this 'con now, he might get free later and turn on them for their lack of help…

"Let's pull him out then," Mixmaster sighed as Deadlift began removing the rocks, "Let's hope it's not Starscream or Soundwave…"

Luckily for Mixmaster, when they had recovered the other Decepticon, it turned out to be Skystalker, who had remained at the back of the Decepticon army for reasons (he would later testify) that had absolute zero connection with cowardice.

He coughed out some rubble and stood over the two others.

"Scrap," he muttered, scratching his head, "What happened here…?"

"Landslide," Deadlift told him, "All hail Lord Mixmaster!"

"You two better stop joking and start digging," Skystalker said angrily, "If Megatron and Starscream get out and see you two not helping, there's gonna be hell to pay!"

He transformed, hovering in the air.

"Where are you going?" Mixmaster asked angrily.

"I've got a train to catch," Skystalker snarled, and shot off towards the south.

* * *

><p>The tunnel was pitch-black. But it was the loudest place Robertson thought imaginable.<p>

As Ermine and Sanders ordered their soldiers to ready their weapons for the pursuing Decepticon, the train roared, the echo magnifying the sound. And another roaring could be heard, coming up the tunnel.

"So who's this one?" Robertson shouted.

"Sideways!" Mirage shouted back, "Were you in Shanghai?"

"Yeah! Was he the one that wasn't big?"

"He's not big," Mirage replied, "But he's quick as the Pit, with the weapons to match!"

"GET READY!" Robertson roared at the soldiers behind him, "PROTECT THE PILLARS!"

The roaring of engines grew louder.

"Driver says two minutes until we're out of the tunnel!" Ermine cried from the darkness.

"FIX FLASHLIGHTS!" Robertson roared.

The tunnel became slightly illuminated, before Mirage's chest-worn high-beams showed the whole tunnel.

And they all saw Sideways screeching towards them.

"FIRE!"

But the Decepticon had already leapt forward, slamming into Mirage, both of them tumbling onto the flat-bed train. A couple of soldiers were sent screaming into the tracks. The others went to ground, lights flashing everywhere.

Robertson bit the steel and wrapped his arms around his head.

Mirage could not see Sideways through all the flashing lights and sudden darkness. But he could hear the two buzzsaws on both his hands and his low growl as he tried to decapitate Mirage.

Mirage kicked him away, hoping to knock him off the train, but Sideways dug his buzzsaws into the flatbed, using them to leap back at Mirage, pushing him into the strapped-down Pillars. Sideways bashed Mirage's head against them and Mirage replied with a knee to the chest. The Decepticon landed a shot to Mirage's torso and a left hook to his head.

Mirage gasped and head-butted Sideways, but there was no power in it, and the Decepticon just laughed and nutted back harder.

And then they were out.

On this side of the mountain the blizzard had stopped. But the landscape was anything but safe. On the train's right, a sheer cliff rose up, a mountain range that the railway followed for the next ten miles. On the train's left was a sheer drop, going down and down until the bottom was hidden by clouds and fog. Falling would mean almost instant death. And if you survived a drop like that, then you would probably be broken for the rest of your life.

But the new environment wasn't all bad; for one thing, Sideways was pretty much illuminated in the sun.

"FIRE!" Robertson roared, and a mix of armour-piercing rounds and rockets smashed into Sideways' back, causing him to yell in pain. He lashed out with his foot, kicking another soldier over the edge towards a screaming death far below.

Mirage used that distraction to sweep Sideways' legs and punch him in the face as they fell. He grabbed the Decepticon's head and banged it repeatedly into the flatbed. Sideways turned his body and leapt to the side, smashing Mirage into the mountainside. Mirage screamed at the impact and fell off the train onto the tracks.

But at the last second, on something bordering instinct, Mirage shot a cable out which smashed into the flatbed, the sharp hook at the end embedded into the steel. In a microsecond, Mirage was back to his feet and the train dragged him along the tracks, a foot on each side, sparks flying from where his feet skidded on the tracks.

Several missiles appeared on his left wrist.

"Let's see how you like this, punk," he muttered.

* * *

><p>Sideways turned to look at the terrified humans around him.<p>

"Right then," he snarled, baring his buzzsaws, "Who's first?"

The soldiers ran for the Pillar car, jumping to get away from the unbeatable enemy. Sideways laughed and flicked one over the edge, and then screamed as his back exploded in pain again. He turned, on fire.

Mirage was skiing along the tracks, the cable heavily embedded in the flatbed. He flipped the bird.

Sideways roared and drew his rifle off his burning back. He saw no better opportunity to take out the annoying Autobot once and for all. He aimed.

At the last second, Mirage leapt out of the way of the sniper shot. He headed over the sheer drop.

Sideways laughed at the death of the Autobot… but then noticed the cable was still attached.

He peered over the edge and saw Mirage running across the side of the cliff, still connected to the flatbed by the cable, keeping up with the train.

Sideways chuckled and his buzzsaws hummed; he moved towards the cable that once sheared would drop Mirage to a death far below the mountain.

He beat out some of the flames on his back, groaning with pain. He lowered a buzzsaw to cut the cable—

—And yet again his back exploded, his body enveloped in flames. He roared and swung around.

"Concentrate your fire!" Robertson roared, "AIM FOR THE HEAD!"

Dozens of armour-piercing rounds smashed into Sideways' face. And although they carried only the power of pins, dozens of them cut up the face like tender meat.

Sideways screamed, his optics smashed, metal peeling off. He cried with pain and sorrow, falling to his knees, his body immolated. The firing stopped.

The train roared onwards.

* * *

><p>Mirage ran as fast as he could across the cliff face, trying to keep up with the train he was barely attached to. If he slowed down for even a second, he would be dragged across the side of the mountain, battered against the rocks, smashed against the sheer wall… or he would fall, and not survive the impact.<p>

Something fiery and screaming fell past him. That distraction was all it took. He was suddenly jerked forward and smashed upon the mountain.

But Sideways was nowhere near as lucky. For no-one could save him here.

He dared to fly.

And he burned… all the way down.

* * *

><p>But as Sideways' dying screams echoed across the valley, Robertson realised Mirage might soon be joining him.<p>

"Bring up the cable!" Robertson ordered, "Get him up!"

The soldiers looked at him like he was mad.

"Sir," Ermine muttered, "There's no way we can pull someone like Mirage up. He weighs too much!"

Robertson looked around at his soldiers. They looked back with crestfallen glances.

"I GAVE YOU SOLDIERS AN ORDER!" he suddenly roared, "NOW PULL!"

Robertson grabbed the flying cable connected to the flatbed and pulled with all his might. It had no effect, but gradually the other soldiers chipped in, each hand trying to locate a spare piece of alien cable. Eventually, what remained of Robertson's platoon was trying to rescue their doomed Autobot comrade.

"No, wait!" Robertson ordered, "All at once!"

Mirage smashed into the cliff again, shards of metal splitting off into the abyss below. He roared with pain.

"3…2…1…

"NOW HEAVE!" Robertson roared, and the soldiers all heaved at once. Fighting against gravity and air resistance, the soldiers began to win; the cable was pulled up a couple of inches.

"AGAIN, HEAVE!"

Meter by meter, Mirage was raised. And the impacts against the cliff became less powerful and less often.

"We're getting there…" Robertson muttered, exhausted, "HEAVE!"

"Sir…" Sanders whispered, dread in his voice.

"What is it?" the lieutenant asked, using a spare hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"We don't have any B-2 Spirit aircraft operating in this area…"

"I know," Robertson muttered angrily, "Why are you—"

But then he realised.

He peered over his soldiers to look upon the valley.

A B-2 Spirit American stealth bomber was flying slowly through the valley, making not a sound. It hovered like a vulture, watching the train and its cargo (both on and off the locomotive), as if waiting for the perfect time to strike.

The soldiers dropped the cable, letting it go taut again, but Mirage was ready, landing on the cliff side with his feet and running. He looked up at the arrival with growing fear behind his optics.

"Fish in a barrel?" Skystalker chuckled, "More like crabs in a bucket."

* * *

><p>"Get to the Pillar car!" Robertson cried, "He won't attack us while we're on it!"<p>

The platoon leapt towards the Pillars, clambering and climbing like monkeys to find safe haven upon the powerful artefacts.

But Skystalker paid them no heed, content to follow Mirage as he ran across the side of the mountain, almost defenceless. The Decepticon smiled from within his deadly machinations.

Five missiles streamed from his form, speeding straight towards Mirage.

The Autobot jumped from the cliff, almost trying to reach Skystalker. The missiles screamed past him and exploded upon the cliff, the flames shooting outwards, roaring with a furious blazing. Mirage span through the air, splitting the blaze with his return to the cliff, grabbing the cable with both hands and attempting to pull himself up. He kicked against the cliff as bullets sprayed around him, Skystalker cackling as he let rip with a huge array of weapons. But the smaller, agile Autobot dodged _through_ them; he leapt through the explosions, allowed a few bullets to hit him to avoid the worst, but always kept climbing himself. Skystalker grew annoyed, his accuracy diminishing, yet his furor rising.

And when Mirage neared the top of the cliff, to where the train chugged unrelentingly across the tracks, he leapt.

The move caught Skystalker off-guard, who had expected Mirage to go for the train; instead, the Autobot went for _him_. The B-2 dodged back, out of Mirage's reach… or so he thought.

From his other hand, Mirage launched a second cable, the sharp end slamming into Skystalker as he fell back. The Decepticon roared with pain, but the fish was hooked.

With Skystalker pulling back, Mirage found himself suspended in the air between the Decepticon and the train, floating above the abyss far below.

And Skystalker had a stroke of genius. He stopped in mid-air, floating.

The train kept on going. Mirage was caught between the two.

The cables went taut. Mirage screamed in pain as his arms were almost torn from their sockets.

"Oh, what a sorry situation!" Skystalker guffawed, "The chances of death for you are… _frighteningly high_!"

"I… agree…" Mirage muttered through the pain, "But… only… for… YOU!"

He wrenched his right arm towards himself, conflicting with the inexorable train, and the cable came loose from the train.

The sudden shift in forces dropped Mirage, still attached by Skystalker, but as he fell he fired his other cable again, also at Skystalker. Distracted by Mirage's death-risk drop, the second cable smashed into Skystalker as well, causing him to scream in pain. The only thing stopping Mirage from falling to certain death was the only thing trying to kill him.

Skystalker transformed in an attempt to dislodge the cables, but the attempt only got him more caught in them. Mirage dared not open fire from below, knowing that if he hit Skystalker, he would be dead as well.

Roaring with fury, Skystalker powered towards the mountain range, Mirage dragged below and behind him. He stopped just meters from the cliff face, Mirage carried forward into the mountain. He couldn't stop his movement, and so could only turn his head away as Skystalker smashed him into the mountain. Roaring, he fired a laser from his wrist into Skystalker, who roared and flew higher, toward the mountain summit. Mirage was dragged upwards as well, towards the heavens.

They slammed into the snow covered mountain, both of them entwined in Mirage's cables. With a bellow that could have been heard on the Moon, Skystalker split the cables with two sharp axes. The remaining ends retreated back into Mirage's arms.

They struggled to find purchase on the mountain, their feet digging into the snow to stop them from slipping towards an ignominious end at the bottom of the Himalayas.

"My fight is not with you, Autobot!" Skystalker snarled, "I need only collect the Pillars and let you go!"

"Not gonna happen, amico," Mirage muttered.

Skystalker bared his axes. Mirage bared the blades on his arms.

And then Skystalker transformed and turned, shooting away from the mountain—

—But not before Mirage leapt into the air, grabbing hold of Skystalker as he shot over the mountain range. The Decepticon roared as he dropped, smashing through the snow, rising up, dropping down, even doing a barrel-roll in an attempt to throw Mirage off. But the Autobot dug his arm claws in, causing Skystalker to cry out. But they shot onwards, Skystalker spinning around in an attempt to send Mirage to his doom.

Through the snow-storm and Skystalker's crazy aerial moves, Mirage saw the train.

"It's time to end this!" he roared, and pushed the blades in deeper.

Skystalker screamed and plummeted, unintentionally nose-diving towards the tracks. Mirage pulled the blades upwards, causing Skystalker to do the same. Mirage rode the Seeker straight towards the locomotive.

They smashed into the tracks. Skystalker bit both wood and metal whereas Mirage leapt into the air.

Mirage flew through the wind towards the train.

He landed on the flatbed, rolling and almost smashing into the Pillars. He looked up.

The soldiers stared with awestruck faces.

"Christ, Mirage," Robertson muttered, "You sure know how to make an entrance."

"Where is he?" Mirage muttered, turning around. He needn't have asked.

Skystalker thundered down the tracks, his engines powering him towards the train. An axe was in each hand, his optics showing nothing but manic intensity.

"Keep out of this," Mirage muttered, readying his blades.

"Don't be stupid, you need our—"

"Just this once," Mirage whispered, "Let me show you how it's done."

Skystalker bellowed. Mirage charged.

They smashed into each other on the locomotive, the echoes of battle ringing out across the largest mountains upon the Earth.

* * *

><p>But the mountains were restless.<p>

They had not heard the clashing of forces in a long time…

And it disturbed them greatly.

The howling winds picked up force. The roaring gales struck the mountains. Snow flew around the eternal teeth of rock, a part of the Earth's mouth. They spoke of unrest… of destruction.

The mountains gave in.

And so the winds and gales whispered one word that heralded thunder unmatched.

_Avalanche_.

* * *

><p>Mirage and Skystalker grappled on the flatbed in a struggle to the death.<p>

Skystalker had lost one of his axes, it having gone over the cliff. He made do by back-handing Mirage across the face, splitting armour. He then landed shot after shot into the Autobot's face, smashing an optic into oblivion. He then kneed Mirage in the abdomen, cracking a rib. His last move was a head-butt that mashed up the Autobot's face yet again.

Mirage flipped him over, stabbing Skystalker's knee in the process, the Decepticon screaming again. Mirage nutted him to stop the whining before following up with a roundhouse kick that shattered Skystalker's ribcage and almost sent him flying into the tracks. Mirage struck again with an uppercut to the Decepticon's chin, breaking his jaw. He lashed out a kick that broke the Seeker's right leg.

But then the avalanche arrived.

There was no warning, no way to tell. Both Mirage and Skystalker had gone through such a rush that they hadn't noticed the distant thunder as it gradually got closer. Snow and rock crashed into them from above, as they fought with blade and fist. Some of Robertson's soldiers were swept over the edge, but the lieutenant grabbed hold of the netting holding the Pillars, staying put.

Through the confusion, Skystalker smashed into Mirage, knocking him to the ground. Mirage was blinded by snow and rock as Skystalker smashed hook after hook into the Autobot's head.

When the falling storm had finished, Mirage could barely see. But he could see one thing clearly.

Skystalker stood above him, axe raised. Half-covered with snow, he was an angel of death in the colours of black and white.

"It will feel…" Skystalker intoned, "…_Cold_."

Mirage looked up without the slightest motion of resistance.

Skystalker brought the axe down.

* * *

><p>Where it was destroyed.<p>

A rocket exploded upon the weapon, shattering it into a hundred pieces and scattering it to the wind. Skystalker looked up in surprise.

Robertson stood atop the Pillars, surrounded by his soldiers, a reloaded AT-4 on his shoulder.

"Smile."

Skystalker's mouth dropped.

The second missile smashed into Skystalker's face, blowing his head apart. The flatbed was showered with metal cranium, a smoking hole where his face had been. Without a sound, the Seeker fell onto the tracks.

The train sped away, and Skystalker's corpse was lost from sight.

Mirage turned his head slowly towards his saviour. Robertson looked down on him.

The human smiled.

"You alright, mate?" Robertson asked.

Mirage gave a small nod, unable to answer with words.

"Ermine, get down there and see what you can do for that hero," Robertson told his sergeant, "It looks like we've escape today. Pretty fucking close, wasn't it?"

He laughed.

And then, despite the pain, so did Mirage. He laughed, much to the surprise of the rest of the soldiers.

They had made it.

And for one, simple glimpse of hope, they had the naivety to believe they had won.

* * *

><p>...<p>

_A train whistled._

Choo-choo.

_Like in a book for children._

Choo-choo.

_Gabriel Robertson remembered reading a book for his infant son just like that. He had even made the choo-choo noises. His little boy had giggled._

_And now it echoed down the valley._

Choo-choo.

_But this wasn't a whistle of victory… it was a whistle of mockery._

Choo-choo.

_For although it was a train's whistle…_

…It didn't come from their train.

...

* * *

><p><em>Choo-choo<em>…

Mirage stared down their locomotive. They were coming to a corner.

He saw the second train.

Robertson turned at the sound. His face changed completely.

Another train on the same tracks. Heading in the opposite direction.

They were on a collision course.

Mirage tried to cry out. He felt himself shift forward as their own train braked hard, sparks flying past. But it would do no good.

Astrotrain smashed into them at over a hundred miles per hour, obliterating the front car, the whole thing exploding with the impact. The sudden force of the collision threw up the other cars on the track, including the one with the Pillars. Mirage and the soldiers found themselves flying.

Then they all fell down.

Over the edge they went, cars and soldiers…

And they didn't stop until they hit the bottom.

* * *

><p>…<p>

When his remaining optic flickered on, he realised he was broken.

He lay in the snow, flames flickering…

Broken cars lay in the valley, the derailed train scattered in the snow and flames.

He tried to get to his knees, but his legs had been smashed into oblivion, and his right arm was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, Mirage began to crawl.

He crawled for several minutes, never really getting anywhere. But revealed by his one optic was the death all around him.

He passed the corpses of soldiers. Privates he hadn't known… Ermine… Sanders…

He heard a whistling.

Not the whistling of a train… but the amused passing of wind through lips.

But then again, it _was_ a train that was whistling.

Mirage shifted his head slightly and saw two cybertronian feet beside him.

"And what do we have here…?"

Mirage didn't reply. He couldn't. He tried to turn his head away.

"What a shame," Astrotrain muttered, "The fall didn't kill you."

Astrotrain strode past him to where the Pillars were. The netting had been pulverised by the crash, and now the four artefacts had been scattered around the area.

"You want to know why it's a shame?" Astrotrain asked, nonchalant, "Because I believe that falling to your death is much less painful then burnin' alive."

Mirage stopped. He couldn't think. He couldn't move.

"Aha," Astrotrain muttered, pulling a Pillar out of the snow, "And it's more or less undamaged. Oh, the luck I have."

He paced through the snow some, pulling debris out of ground.

"You know," Astrotrain said, "Life is like a lemon… and you're fucked."

Mirage winced as he turned his head some more, to look upon his destroyer.

Astrotrain wasn't sadistic like every other Decepticon. Sure he was mean, sure he was evil… but no less than your basic human. But one thing was agreed upon by both Autobot and Decepticon; he was ugly. His face was a mass of twisted metal, one that was hard to tell where his mouth was. His baleful optics were small but smart and despite his thuggish nature, he was more intelligent than any three Decepticon grunts combined. But it was his never-doubted loyalty to a certain cyclopean Decepticon that had helped him to the rank of lieutenant. Of all the evil deeds that he had done, one thing about Astrotrain was certain; he was trustworthy, a trait no other Decepticon could claim to have.

He pulled another Pillar out of the snow but even with only this one optic, Mirage could tell that this Pillar was utterly broken.

"And beyond repair, too," Astrotrain murmured to himself, as if hearing Mirage's thoughts, "I hope not every other one is like this. I've got to get at least three to consider this a success."

He saw another Pillar sticking out of the snow, a corpse wrapped around it.

_Where… where is Optimus? Bumblebee… Sideswipe… Arcee… where are you…?_

"It's always bitter, isn't it?" Astrotrain mused, flinging the corpse behind him so that it landed in front of Mirage, "Life… certainly before death."

But Mirage wasn't listening to Astrotrain's lonely ramblings. He stared at the corpse.

It was iced like a cake, his arms and legs broken, his body utterly shattered. But the face remained recognisable:

Lieutenant Gabriel Robertson.

_Robertson…_

_He saved my life. And… and how did I repay him…?_

"Ah, perfect," Astrotrain muttered, oblivious to Mirage's revelation, "This one hasn't got a scratch!"

Mirage felt both a terrible sorrow and immense rage flow through him. He looked up at where Astrotrain admired the newfound Pillar.

Roaring, Mirage raised his remaining arm. His whole body convulsing in pain, he let off a single missile, not caring about what it hit.

It sped straight towards Astrotrain's head.

But the Decepticon had just the level of instinct to throw the Pillar in front of him. The missile exploded on the artefact, utterly destroying it and sending Astrotrain squealing into the snow.

Mirage cried out, overcome with sadness.

_Dead… and what did he ever do to deserve it? WHAT DID HE DO?_

Mirage felt himself picked up by the head, his body flaring with pain, but he didn't care.

"You foolish… imbecile," Astrotrain muttered, "Stop with your stupid angst and learn that there is no _need _to fight. It's over. You lost."

Mirage looked into Astrotrain's venomous optics and could do nothing but whimper.

"You haven't learned the most important lesson, have you?" Astrotrain sighed, almost sympathetic, "You have to realise that Optimus Prime isn't coming to save you. You won't pull off a miracle comeback and beat me. You won't get better. You will die here, Autobot, in the snow under these ancient mountains."

Astrotrain dropped Mirage onto the snow and went off to collect the other two Pillars.

Mirage could no longer move his other arm. He could only crane his neck, and every second the pain got worse. He wished he could scream, but he had no mouth.

_This is… the end? Why must it hurt so much…? I just want… I just want… to say sorry…_

* * *

><p>Astrotrain returned, three Pillars under his arms. His ugly face looked down on the half-dead Autobot.<p>

"Now let me tell you something that might come in useful," Astrotrain intoned, "I will only say this once, and they will be the last words you ever hear.

"There are no Autobots or Decepticons. There never was and there never will be. There are no... Americans, or, what's the other one? …Tibetans, that's it! They don't exist. Oh yeah, and there are no cybertronians and no humans either…

"There are only those who are among the dead… and among the living."

And with that, Astrotrain turned and headed south.

"It's just some food for thought!" he shouted as he walked away, "To munch on for the last few minutes of your life!"

Mirage wished he could curl up, to hide from the cold, and the dead.

* * *

><p>Astrotrain climbed over the rise that overlooked the valley. He looked back to it. It was nothing but derailed train cars and snow; he could barely recognise the broken Autobot in the centre of it all.<p>

When he turned back, Shockwave stood in front of him.

"Sir," Astrotrain said, bowing his head, "I have recovered three Pillars; the rest were beyond recovery."

Shockwave did not acknowledge him. He simply stared at the train wreck.

Astrotrain just nodded as if his commander had replied and stood by him.

"You left an Autobot alive, Astrotrain," Shockwave intoned, his voice a rolling thunder.

"For you to dispatch with, sir."

"Part of the satisfaction with their deaths, Astrotrain, is their petty resistance," Shockwave uttered, "This one is broken."

"It's better than nothing, Shockwave," Astrotrain grumbled.

Shockwave nodded. "You have done admirable work today. Prepare for our ascent and mind your optics; the following immolation has a 74.4% chance of rendering your visual preceptors useless."

Astrotrain nodded in reply and turned.

Shockwave powered up his cannon arm.

Mirage craned his neck and saw Shockwave.

_So this is the end._

Shockwave fired.

The valley exploded.

The train cars ceased to exist. Snow turned to water, turned to vapour, turned to atoms. It was a blaze in the same way a cyclone is wind. The inferno burned the mountain range, the explosion causing avalanches to fall and be disintegrated. And Mirage was caught in the middle of it.

Robertson's cadaver turned to ash and then turned to particles in the air.

As the flames shot hundreds of feet into the air Shockwave watched it all with grim satisfaction.

Mirage's remaining optic flickered off.

And then Shockwave and Astrotrain turned blue.

In the next second, they were gone.


	17. Houses of the Holy

There is a time in every book series (or non-completed fan-fiction) when the author sits back in his/her chair (or bed) and says to him/herself, "Do I really want to do this?"

Because, right at the beginning, he/she had a flash of inspiration, and wrote the first chapter without a second thought. The passion to see this work accomplished runs for another few chapters before the author starts to lose interest... after all, the author may now have new interests or hobbies, and writing now seems childish or boring... the passion is gone, and the imagination has run dry...

I felt the first twinges of that today, while writing the 'Houses of the Holy'. It does not feel good, not in the slightest.

So I spent a while wondering whether or not I was going to do it...

And then "FUCK IT!", because I realised that as long as there is one (just one!) fan of my story, who wishes to see its end, then I will continue writing! I will not stop until my epic Transformers saga is completed! 'Good Mourning' will run for another fifty chapters before I'm done! RARGH!

So here we are, 'Houses of the Holy', and nearing the end of Season 1. Thank you **Megan666 **for another review!

PLEASE REVIEW! Fan or not, I would like to hear all of your opinions, no matter who you are or what you want!

I will not waver! I will not hesitate! I will not stop!

GOOD MOURNING WILL BE COMPLETED!

* * *

><p><em>Oh, who sent the howling winds, with snow and rock?<em>

"I see him!" Mixmaster cried, digging away, "I see his hand!"

"Are you sure?" Thundercracker growled.

"Of course!"

_Whose cavalcade turns with the ticking of the clock._

As claws scrabbled and scratched to get at him, he felt the weight of the world begin to lighten.

_And whose orders contained nought but deceit and lies?_

He saw the light.

"He's alive!" Overload cried.

_And whose orders could tell when death doth dies?_

With a roar of defiance, he upheaved the rocks and rubble, throwing them to the sky. The Decepticons went with them, screaming as they were flung away from his unstoppable fury.

He stepped onto the rocks, vehemence ruling his gaze, and looked out to the north.

_But, after all, what is man in nature?_

"We will fall back," Lord Megatron muttered, "But we will return… and it will be soon. Keep some scouts here… we will have our vengeance."

_When compared to such an eternal creature?_

One by one, letting out not sigh nor groan, each Decepticon turned to their lord and in turn, became blue.

And then they vanished.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 17: Houses of the Holy<span>

_Many dreams come true and some have silver linings,  
>I live for my dream and a pocketful of gold.<br>Mellow is the man who knows what he's been missin',  
>Many, many men can't see the open road.<em>

—**Over The Hills And Far Away**

* * *

><p>The wind whistled, high-pitched, but musical. And although the wind from the mountains swept down and tried to drown out the music, its high-pitched melody rang true and clear through the mountains.<p>

It was a boy, wrapped in furs, sitting on a log outside a lonely house in the high mountains. He pressed the harmonica to his lips and breathed through it.

It let out a trickle of mournful notes, each tender whistle echoing off the icy surfaces of the Himalayas. The wailing of this tiny instrument was filled with serene beauty, no words or rhythm needed for such a peculiar sound. The boy played to himself, knowing that the beauty of the sound would forever beat the darkness of his sight.

And it was this darkness that hid his unknown audience from view.

On the mountain slope beside him, another figure was perched on the rocks. But this was no human and certainly no child; this alien loomed over the small house and the boy, his red eyes simply curious. Although his left hand held the rocks for support, in his right hand was a golden trident; utterly useless in battle, but threatening none the less.

Space Case did not wipe out the human immediately; he was interested by the sounds he made, noting the strange piece of metal that had been brought up to the child's lips. Another mournful tune rang out.

"Insect," Space Case interrupted, "How do you make such a sound?"

The child started, the harmonica suddenly stopping. He swung his head around, even though Space Case could not be missed.

And then Space Case realised two things: First, he had not spoken in the native language, making him sound like a different form of alien. Second, the child's visual preceptors were not working.

"Uh… _goat_?" Space Case asked in Tibetan, trying to access the human internet from his head to find out other words. Unfortunately, Tibetan didn't have much in the way of internet, China had _even less_ and India had nothing in the way of something even slightly understandable.

As the boy got to his feet, Space Case found a French connection (one of only three human languages he understood fluently) and in less than a minute, understood the entire Tibetan vocabulary.

"Insect," Space Case uttered in their language, "How do you make such a sound?"

The child looked to where he thought Space Case was and stared like a cougar, except he was staring at Space Case's left knee.

"It's my harmonica," the boy replied, "You breathe into it and it makes sounds."

Space Case estimated that the kid was around seven, maybe six. He didn't sound frightened… surely he knew what presence was in his midst?

"Different sounds?"

The boy nodded. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Space Case," the Decepticon replied, "I travelled with the great Decepticon army from across the stars, from distant, doomed Cybertron, to claim what is rightfully ours and destroy the hated Autobots!"

The boy laughed. Space Case had spent many hours working on that speech, so hearing a human, no matter how small, finding it amusing made him slightly miffed.

"Why do you laugh?"

"My grandfather says there's no such thing as visitors from the sky," the boy replied, "People should look to their own problems and not make up others, that's what he says."

It slowly pieced together in Space Case's small mind.

"You… you don't know anything about the war?" Space Case asked, shocked.

"My grandfather came from beyond the mountains," replied the child, "He said his country was about to go to war and that he and some other people had been sent here."

_This child knows nothing of the Autobots or the Decepticons…_

"Was there a war?" the boy asked.

Space Case had just been about to ask that himself, when the door to the house opened.

An old man stood there, looking at the boy and then turning to look at Space Case. His eyes opened wide with shock, but otherwise, he did nothing.

"Grandfather," the boy called, "There's this person who calls himself 'Space Case' here. Is he someone from the village?"

The old man stared coldly at the Decepticon and Space Case stared nervously back.

"No my boy," the old man replied, "This is a visitor from space."

"I'm not a visitor," Space Case replied proudly, "I am a conqueror!"

The boy stared at nothing with his mouth open. But the old man smiled.

"And you've come to conquer what?"

"Your planet. For the glory of the Decepticon empire!"

"Empires…" the old man had suddenly changed languages flawlessly. He was suddenly speaking another one that Space Case didn't understand, forcing him to find out what it was.

With a bit of dull surprise, he found out it was German.

"I once worked with an 'empire'," the old man told Space Case, "But I strayed from it while on an operation… and I've never returned since. I still don't know if the world is in their grip, or it isn't… and I'd rather not know anyway."

Space Case was confused. "You abandoned your empire?"

"There are some things worth more than land and power," the old man replied, "And I found what those things are out here… friends… and family."

The little boy smiled and began to whistle through the harmonica again. Suddenly, to Space Case's audio receptors, it did not just seem like ethereal wind… it sounded like a tune, a song… pretty.

"_Space Case, come in!_"

"Ruination!" Space Case cried, happy that one of his few friends was calling. Actually, friend was too far; more like someone who could tolerate him.

"_The Autobots haven't moved out yet; Soundwave's ordering hit-and-run attacks on them. Start raiding twenty-five miles to the northwest!_"

"Roger!" Space Case squeaked, "Hit-and-run!"

He turned to the old man and his grandson. He nodded curtly.

"You guys don't seem like a threat to the Decepticon empire," Space Case told them, "So I will spare you people; pray for mercy when we eventually take over your Earth!"

He alternated and shot into the mountains.

"Who was he, grandfather?" the boy asked.

"He is a foolish creature, that one. But he seems young… I sense some form of destiny in his future. He will need to grow wise beyond his years if he is to avoid the perils in his life…"

* * *

><p>Sideswipe looked up, his face a mask of despair.<p>

"Optimus…" he muttered, "The train…"

Optimus cast his optics down, feeling a great pit of sorrow form within him.

"The Decepticons are gone," Arcee interrupted, having just scouted out the devastated base camp, "There's nothing left but rubble."

_It is over… we have failed. Mirage and the soldiers most likely lie dead… to think that I could trap them all! I am such a fool… I did not even see Shockwave among the participants of the battle. No doubt it was him, no doubt at all. There probably isn't anything salvageable left…_

_But I must hold on to hope. Mirage may have survived, the humans…_

"Silverbolt!" the leader of the Autobots called, "I have a task for you to do."

"Yes sir?" Silverbolt asked.

"The train carrying the Pillars has been attacked while on route to safety; I need you to find it and see if there any survivors."

"Of course, sir," Silverbolt replied and shot into the air, flying through the mountains.

They had made a makeshift camp several miles from the old one; in fact, this barely could count as a camp. A few tents and a makeshift garage were black dots on the rolling mountainsides and heavy blizzards were common.

_And no word from Ratchet; we can't even escape this hellhole. Despite the Decepticons having gone, there is still a communications blackout… how can this be? We will freeze out here before long…_

"All we seem to do nowadays is get stranded somewhere," Epps moaned, "Shit… I hope Robertson made it."

"And Mirage," Lennox replied, "As much as that kid needs to grow up, he could kick Decepticon ass, two at a time."

"And now?" Epps muttered, "And now he's probably just another corpse in these goddamn mountains."

* * *

><p>When he was blind, he became… frustrated. Even in the midst of a victory, he would still feel that nagging need for a direct uplink… a connection. But in the freezing heights, he could not even hope for the whisper of something like that.<p>

But back above the Earth, so much higher than even the tallest mountain, he felt at home. As he connected to a Chinese spy satellite high up in the sky, he felt the webs of control come rushing back. Here, he was home.

And far above the sky, he saw the Autobots.

_There is only one reason why they should still be there…_

_My mole has done his work. The Pillars have been disabled, as have the communications… excellent. And still, no-one suspects a thing._

Through a hidden camera within the communication tower on Diego Garcia, he saw the human named Randall Irving arrive.

_Although I doubt that will last for long._

"Starscream, come in."

"_What is it, Soundwave?_"

"Why the pejorative tone, Starscream? I present to you an… opportunity."

"_Speak your piece and __speak it __quickly._"

"The Autobots are still in the mountain range. They are… vulnerable."

"…_Are you sure?_"

"Positive. They waste away on the ice… there is no better time to strike."

"_I shall dispatch the Seekers and move into position the ones I already have in play._"

"Be warned; there is one among them you may not remember."

"_Who?_"

"Silverbolt."

There was no reply.

Soundwave grinned to himself. _So the reports are accurate then._

"_I will deal with him myself._"

And then the air commander cut off.

Soundwave sat back to watch the entertainment unfold.

* * *

><p>"It's not working!" the petty officer wailed, "No matter what I try, we still can't get communications!"<p>

Irving gritted his teeth and looked over the gantry on the communications tower to see Ratchet on the runway below.

"Any luck?" he called down.

"The Pillars are busted," Ratchet replied angrily, "It could be some sort of glitch… but I'm no expert at this technology. Or it might be something else…"

"Sabotage?" Gerin asked from below.

"But who would want to sabotage our equipment?" Marcus asked, frowning.

Ryder gave him a look that read 'Look, we're at war, if you hadn't noticed. Who _might _want to sabotage our equipment?'

"Alright, alright," Marcus muttered, "I get your point."

"But how could Decepticons get into the base?" Kaminari asked, studying the Pillars.

_Exactly_, Irving thought. _There is no possible way a Decepticon could infiltrate the top-secret hangars and disable the Pillars, let alone the communication tower… but there have been breaches before in this island's history. No, the security has been revamped __sin__c__e then__…_

_Then how…?_

"Private Lamont?" he asked.

"Yes sir?" one of the soldiers replied, saluting.

"Get a list of all the people who entered and left this building in the past twenty-four hours and send it to me, personally."

"Yes sir!" the private replied, and ran off to find a terminal.

_The computer consoles are all working fine, the signal's being sent… but we're receiving no data. Maybe it's not a problem with the signal… maybe it's a problem with the dish._

He made his way towards a ladder on the side of the tower and began to scale it.

"Randall?" asked one of the soldiers from the gantry, "Where are you going?"

"To see if there's a problem with the dish," Irving replied, heading up, "Has anyone been up here recently?"

"Well, one of the soldiers said that the mobiles in C-Block weren't getting a signal, so he went up there to find out if there was anything wrong."

"When was this?" Irving called down. He had reached a higher gantry and would have to climb another ladder to reach the dish.

"Only a couple of days ago," the soldier replied, "Me and Greg were the only ones on duty at that time of the night."

"And what was his name?" Irving asked as he reached the top.

He stopped still. His eyes widened.

A strange device was attached to the dish, with far too many wires to be part of the normal equipment. And for all his lack of training with the army, Irving could still recognise a bomb when he saw one.

"I think it was… Dalton! Yes; Timothy Dalton."

Irving dropped.

The dish exploded.

* * *

><p>He slammed into the ground, metal talons piercing the snow.<p>

He looked over the wreckage and dismay filled him.

"Oh, but why?" Silverbolt moaned, "Why must there be more casualties in this never-ending war? Every day, a new corpse for the Decepticons to gloat over, to proclaim another victory! But if only they would realise their folly; they have won nothing, claimed nothing… just more brothers dead. Why do they persist in their imprudent ventures, to never sit back and look upon this war as an audience, to never laugh when all they wish to do is to cry? Such pitiless folly…"

He paced among the derailed train cars, most of the valley still on fire from Shockwave's attack.

"And now good Mirage joins the ranks of the fallen," Silverbolt murmured, "Another brave warrior, reduced to wreckage among these frozen mountains… how every death fills me with sorrow, oh why must it be this way…?"

He spied a gleam of red in the snow, just a sliver. Any human eye would have wondered over it, but Silverbolt's optics were those of a thousand year-old hawk; he would've spotted that gleam a hundred feet up.

He paced over to the red metal, before he recognised it. His spark leapt and he quickly started digging away at the snow. When he had finally dug it all up, he wished he hadn't.

Mirage had been totalled. Three of his limbs were missing and the final one smashed to pieces; his optics had been burned out; his torso buckled and broken. Only his head was vaguely recognisable, despite the long scar that ran down it.

"My brother…" Silverbolt muttered, "Another brother… another cybertronian, reduced to the wastes. And in this harsh land… so ignominious."

Silverbolt grabbed a bunch of wreckage and snow and threw it behind him. He started digging, intent on making a grave for his fallen comrade.

He stopped, suddenly.

He… felt something.

He put every sense on pause, his spark listening.

There…

Something… working.

"Impossible," he muttered, all mannerisms forgotten. He scrambled on all fours to Mirage's body and placed his hands over the ruined torso.

And faraway… a beat.

"YES!" Silverbolt cried, "HAHA! UNBELIEVABLE! BY PRIMUS, _HE LIVES_!"

* * *

><p>Starscream stepped upon the crag, looking down from the mountains.<p>

"Sir," Thundercracker informed, "Space Case and Ruination are in position."

"Where is Skystalker?"

"Unknown, sir," Thundercracker replied, "It is thought that he went down with the train."

"Pity," Overcast muttered.

"Silence! We must concentrate on the task at hand, not on the futility of the past… we will soon attack."

"It has come to my attention…" Flatline said, nasally, "That an Autobot awaits in the valley, unprotected…"

Starscream grimaced. Although he could use any Decepticon as well as the next, he particularly disliked Flatline. The doctor's creepy experiments and the energy at which he did them earned him the ire of most Decepticons except, strangely, Thundercracker, who seemed the only Decepticon with an interest in whatever Flatline produced.

Even more surprisingly was Flatline's appearance in the field; he hadn't been seen on Earth since the Decepticon resurrection, where he had lost an optic in his arrogance.

"Then claim him if you will," Starscream spat, "Just go silently… you would not like Optimus Prime to know of your position, would you?"

Flatline gulped and crawled across the mountain.

Starscream looked down from the crag.

There they were; the Autobots and humans, all lined up like tin cans.

"Decepticons," Starscream muttered, "Prepare to attack."

* * *

><p>"ARRRRRRGH!" Bludgeon roared, and knocked out Deadlift.<p>

"Oh for pity's sake," Mixmaster moaned, "STOP THRASHING!"

Bludgeon calmed down enough to see he had knocked Deadlift through the wall of the infirmary. Which was quite impressive, seeing as he had no hand on that arm,

"We're trying to fix your broken leg," Mixmaster muttered, "And I'm no Flatline, but if you continue to knock out my assistants, then this will just take longer."

Barricade stood on the other side of the room, holding Fracture by her neck.

"The next time you try and stab me, I'll tear your throat out," he growled.

Fracture nodded, reluctantly. Barricade dropped her and she scrambled across the ground, cowering in the corner of the room, watching Barricade with hateful eyes.

"RRRARGH!" Bludgeon roared again and almost attacked Mixmaster that time, who had the sense to duck.

"Look at us," Barricade muttered, "We are lieutenants of the Decepticon army, the personal soldiers of Lord Megatron himself… one of whom moans on an operating table, another wishes me dead while she skulks and the last is reduced to playing doctor."

"I think I got the best off, really," Mixmaster muttered sarcastically.

"I'LL KILL THEM ALL!" Bludgeon bellowed through the _Ark_, "JUST LET ME GET MY HANDS ON THAT SILVER-BASTARD AND I'LL CHOKE HIM SO HARD, HIS HEAD'LL EXPLODE!"

"Not lying there, you won't," Barricade murmured, but he knew not to push it too far; even a warrior as stoic as him was wary of Bludgeon. "Especially not in Flatline's abattoir."

That shut them all up. As powerful and commanding as they were, none of them ever wished to end up here; Flatline would loom over them with his chilling smile and an array of tools that were even harder to describe then to look at…

"What does he even do here?" Barricade uttered, moving over to the 'doctor's workbench.

On it were several sparks of different shapes and sizes, each one tampered and desecrated. They had been dissected and cut up, filled with different chemicals and solutions, twisted and savaged… it was almost sickening to look at.

"None of your business, lieutenant!" cried a small, annoying voice.

Barricade peered down and saw several cages, each the size of a human room. Inside each was a small Decepticon, female in build and ugly beyond all comparison. The one who had spoken rattled her cage bars.

"The next time I hear your voice, creature," Barricade spat, "I will crush you between my fingers."

"You wouldn't dare!" the Pretender shrieked, "Or the next time you end up on those operating tables, you might be the one crushed!"

Barricade scowled, obviously loathed at being threatened by something the size of his hand.

"You should have heard Shockwave!" the Pretender giggled, "For all the stories and myths, I thought he would be made of harder stuff… but you know what?" She grinned. "All 'cons are the same size on their backs!"

Her sisters all cackled, and Barricade felt nothing but revulsion.

"But what exactly does your master do?" Barricade asked reluctantly.

"All sorts of things," the Pretender whispered, venomously, "Involving the young, the sick and the dying… of course, what he does after depends on whether they survive or not!"

Fracture leapt from the corner of the room and aimed a recoilless rifle at the cage.

"Go ahead," she whispered, eyes ablaze, "Say another word. I'd like your squealing better if it was _in pain_."

The Pretender cowered at the back of the cage, unsure if threats about her father would work on this insane Decepticon, and decided not to find out.

"Whatever he does here," Barricade muttered, staring at the workbench, "I don't believe I'd rather know."

* * *

><p>Randall's eyes opened slowly, the world a blur.<p>

He saw a beautiful face peering over him. His eyes widened.

"W-Where?"

"The infirmary," Gerin replied warmly, "You managed to drop before the dish exploded, so you missed the worst of the damage. The doctor says you've only got a concussion."

Irving put a hand to his head and felt the bandage wrapped around it.

"How… how long have I been out?"

"An hour or so; I only came in five minutes ago." She smiled. "No one was killed, thank God, and you're the only one who came away with injuries."

"Whoopee," Irving muttered, moving his hands so that he could sit up against the bed-rest.

"But now we have no communications out of this base…"

"DALTON!" Irving suddenly roared, "DALTON, THAT BASTARD!"

"Christ, Randall!" Gerin exclaimed, "Calm down!"

"Dalton, Tim Dalton!" Irving cried at her, "They say he's in Thailand, but he was here! He planted the bomb… you need to find Dalton! You can't waste time!"

"Dalton," Gerin repeated, her eyes wide.

"And tell Lamont… I need that list! The list with all those who entered… all those who entered the tower…"

But he never finished, as he was soon unintentionally asleep.

* * *

><p>"Now I'm not even receiving static," Epps muttered, "It's dead air."<p>

The blizzard had picked up again and most of the men were in their tents, huddled against the cold, while the Autobots stood guard.

"We need to keep a look out," Sideswipe muttered, "I don't like any of this."

Optimus was about to agree, when he was interrupted.

"_Optimus! It is me, Silverbolt!_"

"What is it Silverbolt?" Optimus asked, frowning at the Autobot's eager tone.

"_I've found Mirage: he's alive!_"

Optimus froze.

_I-Impossible!_

"A-Are you sure?" Optimus asked, struggling to keep his voice level.

"Optimus?" Lennox asked from the ground, "What is it?"

"_He needs medical attention fast and we need to get him out of here now; but he can still make it!_"

But before Optimus could rapturously reply, several missiles exploded upon them.

The Autobots were thrown into the air, tents exploded, snow vaporised.

The Seekers thundered overhead.

"To the west!" Optimus roared, getting to his feet, and the soldiers of HARP followed. They battled through the blizzard, missiles spearing out of the winds, forcing them to duck and dodge whenever they could; some didn't quite make it.

Epps ran past a soldier roaring in pain and quickly turned back, but Lennox pushed him on.

"Leave him!" the Colonel roared, "We need to stick with the Autobots!"

"Never leave a man behind!" Epps cried back, "You taught me that sir!"

Lennox hesitated for only a second, but a soldier's instincts built upon years of experience allowed him to make those split-second decisions.

"Then hurry!"

They pushed on, following the backs of the Autobots, through the whirlwind of hail.

* * *

><p>Silverbolt had done everything he could to keep Mirage alive; but it might not have made much difference anyway. His injuries were beyond catastrophic and he had only survived this long on his sheer will to live.<p>

"Stay alive, Mirage," the Aerialbot muttered, before almost slapping himself with the pointlessness of the statement.

"Yes, I agree," came a voice form behind, "Stay alive… I like them fresh."

Silverbolt whirled around to face the speaker. He found himself face-to-face with one of the most hideous Decepticons he had ever seen.

A crimson optic that could stare right into your soul, with armour as black as coal. Teeth too large and savage for his head, with terrifying claws that could tear you to shreds. He grinned.

"You are one of Starscream's brigade," Silverbolt muttered, furious as the memories echoed at the back of his brain.

"Very astute," Flatline replied, still grinning, "And now… stand aside."

The wind blew hard around Silverbolt, the snow and fires swirling.

"You will not touch him," Silverbolt snarled, gritting his teeth as his vortex simulator picked up energy.

"Oh?" Flatline cackled, like a hyena. He took a step closer. "No-one's coming to rescue you, you know." Another step. "And my friends are watching in the mountains, ready to swoop in whenever you make a move…"

Only then did Flatline notice the air being sucked into Silverbolt.

With a sudden roar, Flatline shot into the air, just as the Autobot fired.

The unrelenting force tore through the snow, lifting up a couple of blazing train cars and flinging them into the mountainsides. Silverbolt had carved a parting through the valley in the same way a knife goes through butter. But at the expense of this powerful attack came a lot of energy.

Which Flatline was quick to capitalise on.

The Decepticon smashed into Silverbolt from above, toppling the Autobot into the snow, just meters from Mirage. Flatline pummelled Silverbolt's head, who weakly placed his arms in front of it, gasping with pain. Flatline pounded again and again, and Silverbolt's armour began to split.

But then the energy came rushing back.

Silverbolt kicked out, smashing his feet into Flatline's chest, pushing him into the snow. As the blizzard roared around them, Silverbolt charged, smashing into the Decepticon medic. Flatline refused to topple but he was dazed, allowing Silverbolt to smash an uppercut into his chin. The Decepticon was flung into the air and came crashing down, rolling down an embankment, crying out as he did so.

Silverbolt paced backwards to Mirage, standing over him while trying to peer through the blizzard.

He heard the roar of jet engines. The roar of many jet engines.

Through the hail, he saw the Seekers.

"Then come!" he roared down the valley, "Come and claim my friend! YOU WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THE SUN RISE!"

And then they were upon him.

* * *

><p>Lennox stopped. Epps, who was carrying the wounded soldier, stopped as well.<p>

"Fuck…" Lennox muttered, out of breath. Epps understood; they couldn't even hear the Autobots, let alone see them. They had been left behind.

They were all alone.

"T-This…" Epps coughed, breathing deep, "Is… a class example… of SNAFU." He spat on the ground.

The wounded soldier moaned.

"Don't worry kid," Epps muttered, pushing on, "We'll get you home."

Lennox followed, toting the sabot launcher.

They heard something loud and heavy hit the snow.

Lennox whirled around, but the blizzard was as thick as a cement wall.

"Robert…" Lennox muttered.

"Yeah, I heard it…" Epps sighed, slowly lowering the wounded comrade to the snow.

Two red eyes appeared in the gloom.

Lennox and Epps raised their launchers.

"It was a heck of journey, wasn't it?" Epps muttered.

"We've cheated death way too much," Lennox replied, sighing, "I guess the dice have rolled in his favour now."

"A bit poetic for you," Epps chuckled, "Then again, it is a last stand… ready Butch?"

"Whenever you are, Sundance."

Epps laughed and raised the launcher.

The Decepticon appeared fully.

Epps groaned. The Decepticon chortled.

"You again?" Ruination bellowed, "At last! It's time for some… vengeance!"

The three of them stared each other down. Ruination raised his missile launchers.

And was knocked down by a small figure out of the storm.

"GO!" Arcee yelled, stabbing Ruination again and again.

Epps picked up the wounded soldier, and the two of them ran for the hills.

"You know what?" Epps cried, breathing heavily once again, "Death has some lousy dice!"

"Nah," Lennox laughed, "Ours are just loaded!"

* * *

><p>He socked Overcast in the jaw.<p>

With a roundhouse kick, he shattered Jetstorm's knee.

He head-butted Skywarp, sending the Seeker into the snow.

"YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME?" Silverbolt thundered, dropkicking Flatline into a train car, "SILVERBOLT, COMMANDER OF THE AERIALBOTS? I WAS DESTROYING FOOLS LIKE YOU WHEN YOU WERE IN THE HATCHERY!"

He socked Overcast again, sending him flying into a raging fire.

They had still not touched Mirage.

The Seekers fell back, watching Silverbolt with cautious eyes.

"Do you have no courage?" Silverbolt snarled at them, "Do you have no honour? You disgust me, all of you! Where are the Cybertronian Guard? Where are the Praetorians of Steel? The Seekers of old? You are not even fit to be part of the Cybertronian Defence Force!"

The Decepticons did not reply, instead preferring to circle Silverbolt and Mirage.

Silverbolt watched them and instantly knew what they were planning. And how he was unable to stop it. They were going to surround him and charge at the same time; he would be overwhelmed.

He gritted his teeth and prepared for the hammer blow.

They charged.

Up the hill they ran, roaring a battle-cry as they did so. Silverbolt managed to punch out Flatline, but then Overcast and Jetstorm had him in their grip, and they were clawing and punching, and Silverbolt was on his knees, covering his head with his hands.

Then there was a bloodcurdling scream.

Overcast yelped in pain and rolled down the bank, while Jetstorm took to the skies. All of a sudden, Optimus was in front of Silverbolt and Mirage, protecting him. The other Autobots and humans formed a circle around their injured comrades, guns and weapons at the ready.

"Are you alright, Silverbolt?" Bumblebee asked, his arm cannon buzzing.

"Where's Arcee?" Sideswipe cried.

"She's with Colonel Lennox; they're right behind us," Optimus replied, "They'll be here soon!"

Silverbolt nodded at Bumblebee and got wearily to his feet, a scythe appearing in his right hand.

"AUTOBOTS!" boomed a voice from the blizzard.

The soldiers of HARP froze.

"YOU ARE SURROUNDED AND OUTNUMBERED!" Thundercracker thundered, "YOU HAVE NO CHANCE! THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS; DON'T THROW YOUR LIVES AWAY!"

"He must think us mad," Bumblebee muttered, missiles appearing on his shoulders.

And then the blizzard cleared. They saw the numbers arrayed against them.

The Seekers had turned out in full strength; Thundercracker, Skywarp, Jetstorm, Flatline, Space Case, Ruination and Overcast surrounded the four Autobots and their dwindling number of human allies.

"Are you all ready for this?" Optimus asked. He got assurances from both Autobot and human in the circle. He gripped the blaster in one hand, his fingers curling round the grip.

"Then let's get—"

But then they saw him land on a train car. Optimus felt overwhelming fury enter his spark.

Starscream stood there, hunched over like a beggar, appraising the HARP defences with far-seeing optics.

"No-one move," Optimus told them all, "They plan to pick us off like vultures, to slowly grind us into submission—"

"STARSCREEEEEEEEEEEAM!" Silverbolt roared with wrath unparalleled, before launching himself from the circle. Everyone in the valley was shocked, most of all Starscream.

"Silverbolt, NO!" Optimus cried after him, but it was too late.

The Decepticon air commander alternated and fled down the valley, quickly pursued by an enraged Silverbolt.

"Lord Starscream!" Space Case jabbered, and shot after them.

The remaining Decepticons turned back to the remaining Autobots.

"CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!" Optimus bellowed, and the strength of HARP sallied forth from Mirage's body, racing towards the Decepticons.

They clashed on a battlefield of fire and ice.

* * *

><p>The Decepticon air commander and the former Autobot air commander shot down the valley.<p>

_He… he butchered them all… THE MURDERER!_

Silverbolt shot missiles after Starscream, who rolled and spun to no avail. He shot in-between mountain peaks, the missiles impacting upon the snowy sides, fire raining down the valleys.

Silverbolt pursued regardless, screeching through the fires, roaring after his nemesis.

Another couple of missiles screamed down the mountain ranges towards Starscream's back, but the cunning Decepticon ejected a hundred flares, the Himalayas illuminated as more explosions ripped through the sky. Silverbolt was uncaring, flying through it all, his mind consumed with vengeance.

He let loose the last missile.

It smashed into Starscream's afterburners, sending him screaming into a mountain. The impact sent snow and rock tumbling down into the valley below.

Silverbolt descended onto the mountain, alternating and landing on his feet. He saw Starscream lie motionless.

They were out on a large, rocky outcrop of the mountain, the peak rising on their right, the sheer drop on their left. Starscream shuddered.

"Get up," Silverbolt spat, "You will die on your feet. I will not dishonour the debts owed by destroying you while defenceless… no matter if you would do it to me."

Starscream groaned and rose to his knees. He looked up at Silverbolt with weary eyes.

"W-Who…?"

"I am Silverbolt, you bastard!" the Autobot snarled, "You murdered my friends in that hellhole and let me go out of sadism! Remember me, and then DIE!"

But Starscream stared up at Silverbolt with nothing but confusion and fear.

"I… I do not recall you," Starscream muttered, "I did a lot of things I was not proud of, but… you were just one face among many, it seems…"

Silverbolt stared in shock. He gaped, unbelieving.

_M-My whole life… my life was ruined by what he did to me… and I wandered the stars, trying to discover if vengeance should be exacted or not… and now that I finally meet him again… he does not remember?_

_How… how pathetic…_

"You… you are nothing, Starscream," Silverbolt muttered, "Absolutely nothing."

And then a glimmer of resentment appeared in Starscream's optics, flashing across his face like a banner of hate.

And then Silverbolt's back exploded in pain. He cried out and whirled around.

Space Case stood on the outcrop, pointing a blaster at the Autobot.

"Get away from Lord Starscream!" Space Case whined, "Or you'll have to go through me!"

Roaring, Silverbolt lashed out with a kick that sent Space Case screaming over the edge, the Decepticon tumbling down the mountainside. Silverbolt sighed with the energy expended.

And then felt cold.

So very cold…

He looked down and saw two long, savage claws protruding from his chest.

He tried to panic, to scream, to speak, to sigh, to mutter… but no sound came from his mouth. It was just so very… cold.

"Of course I remember you," Starscream snarled, "And would you like to know why I let you go? It was to show you how pointless your plight was… to fight the Decepticons… to fight me…"

Silverbolt gasped as he saw energon drip down his chest.

"Vengeance is such a stupid notion; it consumes all those who wish for it, and destroys all those who aim to acquire it…

"Sometimes, you've just got to let go."

And with that, Starscream threw Silverbolt's corpse from the mountain.

He fell with the snowflakes, just one among many.

* * *

><p>…<p>

_The snow swept across the battlefield…_

_The Seekers fell back…_

_The fires all went out._

_The fires all went out…_

_And there stood Starscream, triumphant in victory._

_The rage…_

_The fury…_

_The dead…_

_And then there was chaos, snow and steel, the sounds of battle echoing across the mountains… from the denizens of the damned, to the houses of the holy…_

_And he saw Starscream through snow and steel._

_One shot…_

_One shot to bring him down…_

_One shot to bring it all crashing down._

_Oh, vengeance is sweet… so very sweet…_

...

* * *

><p>Optimus paced through the snow, his optics ablaze, his mind reeling from Silverbolt's demise.<p>

_He… h-he had only been with us a short time… too short for one such as him to die._

Each titanic footfall crushed the snow into water.

_And again… it was him… Sam, Blazemaster… and now Silverbolt. All killed by that c-coward._

He saw him crawling through the cold.

_And now his time has come._

A gaping hole was in Starscream's side, and he was gasping in pain as he crawled away. But Optimus was upon him, his blaster pointing down at Starscream's head.

"Turn around…" Optimus muttered.

Starscream froze as if he had been slapped. Slowly, painfully, he turned his head to look up at Optimus Prime.

Optimus coldly looked down. Starscream gaped up at him.

"You have to face death, Starscream," Optimus intoned, "You must not shy away, nor cower; you must be brave at the end."

"T-The end…?"

"This is for Blazemaster, Silverbolt," Optimus uttered, "And for Sam."

Optimus raised the blaster to Starscream's face.

His finger curled around the trigger.

And then he heard a sound. A peculiar sound, as if far away…

But the sound was coming from Starscream. He didn't seem to move, but something was emanating from him… something strange, and wholly unnatural.

He was chuckling. Starscream was chuckling, low and husky, staring up at Optimus.

"You laugh at your death?" Optimus snarled.

"Optimus…" Starscream chuckled, "You utter hypocrite."

The whole world seemed to freeze, as Optimus looked into optics that completely believed what he had just said.

"W-What?"

"You would kill me for the lives I have taken?" Starscream spat, "Then it seems you and Megatron are not so different after all…"

"I care not for your lies or idiocy," Optimus said, "You will die here, now."

"And join the ranks of all the innocents you've killed as well?" Starscream spat, "YOU ARE NOT A GOD!"

Optimus was taken aback by the sudden outburst, but quickly retorted.

"Are you even considering yourself as innocent?"

"Oh, I'm no saint, that I know," Starscream snarled, "But I decide who lives and dies out of necessity, not ego!"

"You are mad, Starscream. If you believe I fight out of ego—"

"Not fight; kill! You've sentenced so many to death, innocent or guilty, and your bloodlust knows no bounds!"

"Starscream, I've had enough of your whining—"

"EXACTLY!" Starscream roared, something that had settled on his spark for so long being let out in a giant burst of rage, "You are no different from Megatron; power hungry, mad and, above all, believing in your own omnipotence! _You _were the one on Cybertron who, so long ago, flung the Allspark into space, thus dooming our planet and sending us to Earth! _You _were the one who allowed the boy to destroy the Allspark forever, thus marking us on the path to extinction! _You _were the one who destroyed the Solar Harvester, the only instrument capable of restoring life to our race and returning us to glory! _You _were the one who not only killed Cybertron, but _destroyed it entirely_, our home! Did none of those things mean anything to you? Our home, our race, our lives? You sad, pathetic little man… Sam would not have died if he had never destroyed the Allspark, the Allspark _you _sent to Earth! You set every chain of motion into effect, you sentenced us all… like a god would.

"But I forget! Oh yes, we all know why you made those decisions; the humans would have been harmed! Oh, you disgust me, Prime! I understand how you see them in us, I understand how you wish them to avoid the mistakes we made… no. NO! The mistakes _you _made! Sure, Cybertron would be in the grip of tyranny, but at least we'd all be alive! The hatcheries lie silent and empty, because of _you_! You will never hear the laughs of the free or the happy, because of _you_! You will not hear their sparks beat with energy or life, _because of you_! Don't you see? _Every action you have taken has killed our race and doomed the humans_!"

Acid ran down Starscream's cheeks, his voice cracking. He was wailing now, the blizzard whipping around them.

"And all I ever wanted was to see us all alive… because I'm the only one who does. These humans don't care; they just know that when you're around, you'll guilt trip yourself into defending them. The Autobots only fight out of vengeance, blaming us… and my soldiers are just foolish and stupid, unable to see the damage they cause! You are all idiots… especially you, Optimus Prime. No-one whispers your name in admiration; they whisper your name in _fear_. You're a genocidal maniac, uncaring, unflinching, killing what you can. And all for these… _insects_. You can't teach them, Optimus, much as Sentinel couldn't teach us… they will turn on you like vultures…"

Starscream stared up at Optimus, broken and beaten.

"And now you must kill me… fine then. I'm just another body to you, another corpse to sweep away… Starscream, the last true cybertronian. Whereas you lust for the past you once ruined, and Megatron lusts for the future he will only ruin, only I remember what it was like to feel the sun on my skin, to feel the life in the Allspark… heh. But who am I to muse? After all, I'm a _Decepticon_. A villain. My viewpoint doesn't matter; I'm just a walking corpse."

Starscream sat back and looked at the snow, utterly demolished in spirit and soul.

Optimus stared at him, unable to form words. He just felt cold inside.

_Is… is it all true?_

_I… I… I…_

_I… doomed us all?_

"Leave," Optimus ordered, his optics far away.

Starscream looked up slowly, disbelief in his eyes.

"LEAVE NOW!" Optimus roared.

Starscream slowly got to his feet, gave Optimus a withering glare, turned, and walked into the blizzard.

Soon, he was gone from sight.

Optimus just stood in the cold, staring at the ground. The echoes of battle had long since vanished.

Eventually, they found him.

"Optimus?" Sideswipe asked, "We beat them off… where's Starscream?"

"He…" Optimus murmured, "He got away…"

"RAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Bumblebee roared, punching the ground. He shook violently.

And suddenly, the victorious soldiers of HARP no longer felt the victory. Instead, they had gained nothing…

Just another corpse.

Another dead friend.

And no debts had been paid.

They stood in the snow, as the blizzard seemed to laugh at them.

* * *

><p><strong>1 Week Later…<strong>

The time was drawing near.

Harbinger's plans were ready.

Someone smashed into the Nevada desert.

Space Case stood on the Moon, looking up at the stars, wondering.

And in the blackest hole of the _Ark_, unthinkable experiments were being performed.

"We're almost there my pretties…" Flatline whispered, "Almost there…"

The time was drawing near.

The destruction of Earth was about to begin.


	18. Ace of Spades

Well. Hmm.

With Season 1 (sadly) coming to a close in four episodes' time, I decided to write a 'lighter' episode. Seeing as there has been a lot of death and philisophical ramblings as of late, I thought I would try and write something before the season finale arc that could evoke more laughter than bloody drama.

And, for the first half of this chapter, I more or less try to accomplish that. But after one of the characters says "I got a bad feeling. A real bad feeling." it gets a whole lot darker. Probably because at that moment in writing I listened to this: youtube .com/watch?v=4LALfYOMk6c

Yeah. With that song and that picture, the ending's going to be a lot less cheerful.

Oh well! Thank you **Megan666**, **Mytical-Mist-Devil**, **Lone Wolf **and **Random Reader **for a plethora of reviews! Maybe I should start uploading chapters earlier than one in the morning (over here)!

As always, please read & review!

* * *

><p>There was something brewing in the cosmos… something <em>brooding<em>.

The stars whispered to each other, warned each other. They felt it within them, in their ever-blazing hearts. They grew nervous, a feeling they had not felt in aeons.

But none were as nervous as Sol.

Sol was neither a large star, nor a powerful one. Indeed, it was average at best, with only another six billion years left of its life. But Sol had become somewhat (in)famous across the galaxy; its system had been the sight of many races battling for supremacy across its eight beautiful planets. And no planet shone brighter with the fires of war than Earth.

But at that moment, Sol was terrified.

It could feel the threads of destiny, of fate, of uninterruptable inevitability. It was filled with dread for what could happen… it felt the cold hands of the future creep towards it, to strangle Sol and put out its fires.

It felt Earth's impending destruction…

But it knew for every determined future, it could be undetermined… and so there was a glimmer of hope in the darkness. Much like Sol itself.

Otherwise, Earth would be eradicated.

And, quite possibly, the galaxy with it.

* * *

><p>But the races of the galaxy were oblivious to it, none more so than the two that crowded the Earth.<p>

And the most watchful of them all, hanging above the blue planet, was as oblivious as the rest.

But Earth still had some time yet, whether or not Soundwave was aware of it.

There was still time to play out one last scenario, as mad as it was.

And no-one, not Soundwave, not Optimus Prime, not Harbinger, would see it coming.

Harbinger.

_Harbinger_.

Soundwave had searched fruitlessly across the world for this mysterious 'Harbinger' but had only found the name. He had no idea if it was just one person, or a group, or neither of the two. He had only found the name via one of Harbinger's agents, who had quickly committed suicide before he could reveal more. So far, he had been the only agent Soundwave had found. Not even his mole in HARP had been able to find out anything… that, or he wasn't revealing it.

_I will find you, Harbinger, wherever you may hide. I found the Initiative before you, as elusive as they were, and you will be next… I will just need to draw you out of hiding…_

Soundwave focused on the world below, searching hard.

Too hard.

In a flash of failure, he became ignorant of his surroundings, and did not notice two bright shapes far behind him.

But they came closer.

And closer.

Finally, Soundwave paused in his search and only then did he notice what was coming.

But by then it was too late.

Two comets smashed into him and the satellite he was on, tearing him loose and obliterating the hardware. He was thrown about, roaring, into space.

"YEEHAW!" Deadlift whooped.

"Take that you creepy bastard!" Mixmaster roared, "WE'LL SEE YOU IN THE PIT!"

The two comets streaked through the atmosphere, heading towards the Earth.

They were aiming to raise hell and eat gears.

And they were all out of gears.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 18: Ace of Spades<span>

_I know I'm born to lose  
>And gambling's for fools<br>But that's the way I like it baby  
>I don't want to live forever…<em>

—**Ace of Spades**

* * *

><p>"Three Autobot casualties in as many months," Mason growled, "And we have only claimed one Pillar, for the one we lost… and as much as the death of Akil Farrah warms my heart, this is disappointing to say the slightest. SetDef's not pleased. Washington's not pleased. I'm not pleased."<p>

The whole of HARP had turned out for General Mason's speech, who delivered it from a raised platform above the runway. Around a thousand people stood there in the sweltering heat: soldiers, mechanics, technicians, doctors, pilots and, of course, three rebellious teenagers.

"Why does he make us stand outside?" Marcus whispered, "We're dying out here…"

He hadn't expected Stacy to answer, but he still felt like he needed to say something. She had hardly spoken after Blazemaster's death, shrinking in on herself. She was no longer crying, but for some reason Marcus felt rotten every time he looked at her.

"The General believes a spot of sun won't hurt anyone," Gerin replied from behind him, leaning over with a smile, "But notice how he swelters and sweats; now he can't move us all back into a hangar without looking… ripened."

"Yeah," Marcus giggled, "He does look like a sweaty cabbage."

That earned a few chuckles from the men around him. Mason paused in his speech and all was silent. He accustomed their guffawing to the wind and continued.

"I'm not asking for results," Mason told them, his tone possessing more than a little ire, "Just something that doesn't look like a total defeat; Charlotte Mearing is coming here for an inspection in just a few days and I want a Decepticon head to show her!"

This surprised them all. The Secretary of Defence, coming personally to Diego Garcia? That was cause to try and improve their current situation by tenfold.

Irving turned his head and looked at all the faces. He had received the list from Private Lamont and it had confirmed his worst suspicions.

_5:31: Pvt Clarence Gable  
>5:32: Pvt Nathaniel Lamont<br>7:54: Sgt Damien Rickenrarl  
>12:04: Cpl Lucy Baker<br>12:05: Pvt Xhao Chubin  
>13:00: SSgt Robert Epps<br>16:31: Gen Charles Mason  
>19:22: Pvt Nathaniel Lamont<br>20:56: Col William Lennox  
>21:39: Lt Timothy Dalton<br>23:03: Pvt Frederick Walker_

Irving turned the names over in his mind. All in all, he had learned two things: Timothy Dalton is or was on the island, and that Irving really wanted his last name to be 'Rickenrarl'.

_But Dalton is supposedly stationed in Thailand… damn it, I need to contact Gregory Thorne, the guy who commanded Dalton in Egypt… I hear he's retired, but I need to speak with him either way…_

"And that concludes our objectives," Mason finished, "Any questions?"

A voice, far away and deformed by interference, shouted out:

"Yeah; when are you going on a diet?"

A couple of the men sniggered at Fearswoop's jape, but Mason turned redder than beetroot.

"I WANT HIS CAPTIVITY SCREEN SOUNDPROOF BEFORE THE SECRETARY ARRIVES!" he bellowed, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND RATCHET?"

"Yes, general," Ratchet sighed.

"NOW ALL OF YOU; BACK TO YOUR POSTS!"

* * *

><p>"That was pretty good," Fearswoop sniggered.<p>

"I know," Ryder replied, moving the microphone away and putting on his sunglasses.

"You know what?" Fearswoop jabbered, "I might just stay with you guys. Screw the Decepticons; you idiots are entertaining."

Ryder shrugged and moved to exit the hangar.

"Just watch your back," Fearswoop said, his glare malevolent, "You never know who might try to stab it."

Ryder hesitated a second, but not less, and continued on.

He passed Ratchet as he exited, who gave an equally threatening stare.

"You two in the same room?" Ratchet muttered, "I can't see how that could have produced beneficial social breakthroughs…"

But then he noticed a flashing button on one of the gargantuan control consoles.

You didn't need Ratchet's scientific or medical skills to realise that a flashing button was a bad sign.

"Another hit!" he called out from the hangar, "This one in America!"

Without a moment's respite from the heat, Optimus Prime and Colonel Lennox came rushing in.

"America?" Lennox asked, "What trajectory?"

Ratchet grimaced. "A real bad place for them to land."

"Then where are they landing?" Lennox questioned.

Ratchet looked down.

"Las Vegas."

* * *

><p>Sin City didn't get its nickname as a synonym. Being one of only two cities in the whole of the United States that not only legalised the huge casinos in the CBD, but also actually endorsing it, The Strip is easily the most recognisable place for tourists; nothing but high stakes gambling for over four miles through the rotten soul of the city. But to think of Las Vegas as just a place with casinos is completely ignorant; there are suburbs and hundreds of houses scattered all around the gleaming centre of the city, filled with the middle class workers who kept the cash flowing. But beyond that, in the rundown areas of the town, are people who either lost it big at the tables and have nowhere else to go, or people with so little money that they cannot escape through the vast and merciless desert that surrounded the ugliest jewel in America's trinket cabinet of historic cities.<p>

But two new tourists were about to enter town, indifferent for the dredges of the insect hive; all they cared about was the gleaming heart.

But no-one in the city saw them coming, Julius Jacobs among them.

He looked out from the Bellagio's highest suite, holding a champagne glass in one hand and flexing his wiry, heavily tanned fingers with the other. He took a sip.

_Oh, the pleasures life has to offer. Yet again, another night in the life of the smartest man in Nevada._

He smiled to himself, his expensive suit and red tie gleaming in the moonlight. He was looking down on The Strip, noting the small amount of traffic. That was rare.

_Wine, wife and wonder… I betrayed to get here, I intimidated to get here, I murdered to get here… and this is the paradise that I deserve. Yes… this is the life._

But his fingers still flexed and his brow furrowed.

_But…_

He took another sip. It tasted bitter in his mouth.

_There is nothing left… what is left to take for the man who has everything? This whole city, this whole world… it's just a stage, a game that holds no more challenges._

He let out a small sigh. He stared at the people pacing the sidewalk.

_Every one of them; a cash dispensing machine… and whenever they enter, they fritter away their earnings like cows; they might as well be dancing with the devil._

But no amount of musing on the lower classes shortcomings could help satisfy him.

_But maybe that's it… they have a life of hardship ahead of them; isn't overcoming challenges the meaning of life? Hmm… I really am bored. I feel like grabbing a rifle and mowing the sheep down._

He grimaced. Owning three of the top casinos in Las Vegas felt a lot less interesting than it sounded.

_Why can't something just happen? Day in, day out, the same old shtick. Hmm…_

And that's when he felt a rumbling. He saw the window panes shaking, ever so slightly. He frowned.

_An earthquake? Not exactly rare, but never large…_

The window panes began moving faster. The ground seemed to heave. Julius held the glass steady.

A light was dawning in the dusk.

He dropped to the floor as a great roaring echoed across the city, the Bellagio shaking like a leaf.

_Oh for pity's sake! I didn't mean something like this!_

The roaring and rumbling continued on, until a great thunderstrike seemed to echo across the world. Julius didn't scream, but he came close to.

Eventually, it all stopped.

Slowly, steadily, Julius got to his feet, his $1,000 suit ruined by flying champagne. But he cared little for what could be replaced with a snap of his fingers and stared out the window in shock.

Although the casinos had survived, The Strip certainly hadn't; the road had been completely torn up from the south end all the way to Bellagio's epic front-door lake. Well, where the lake had once been.

And, with panic in his eyes, Julius saw the ground begin to move. And he saw who had arrived on his doorstep.

_The Transformers! Oh Christ, w-what do they want? Have they come to kill us all? Is there going to be a battle? What were they again… oh yes! The Autobots and the… uh… Decepta… Decepto… oh it'll come to me eventually._

And then a stroke of genius echoed through his brain. An idea so insane and so brilliant that it couldn't possibly fail.

He chewed it over in his mind for ten seconds.

Then made his decision with an award-winning smile.

He whipped out one of his five cell phones and punched in a number.

"Front desk!" he roared, "It's me, Julius, your boss!"

"_Y-Yes sir?_" came the terrified receptionist's voice at the other end, "_Sir, there are—_"

"I know what's out there; get Miles, Fernando and Sidney down to the reception, _right now_!"

"_S-Sir?_"

"Do it or you're fired!" he roared and cut off the connection.

Straightening his suit, he turned and walked towards his personal elevator.

_The Transformers… oh yes! The publicity, the newsfeed, the tourists! The first extra-terrestrial visitors to the Bellagio hotel and casino… I wouldn't miss this for the world!_

Julius Jacobs descended, bored no longer.

* * *

><p>"Well," Mixmaster stated, getting up off the tarmac, "Looks like we've arrived."<p>

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Deadlift groaned, lifting himself up as well.

"Shut up; I'm your commanding officer!"

"I doubt rank has any power now that we're wanted 'cons," Deadlift replied, "Besides; we're here to have fun before our eventual death!"

"You never know mate; we might just make it out."

As the dust settled, Mixmaster looked around him. Las Vegas was just like it had looked on the human internet, except much larger and much grander; even the casinos towered over the Decepticons. Mixmaster whistled in admiration.

"You know, these insects aren't that pragmatic about their architecture," he noted.

"You're admiring them?" Deadlift questioned, surprised.

"I don't see why we shouldn't," Mixmaster responded, as people ran away screaming, "So… what's the plan?"

Deadlift thought for a second. "I thought you had a plan; you're the thinker!"

"Well, I thought we might go on a rampage…" Mixmaster shrugged, "But on reflection, I wouldn't want to wreck a city this pretty."

Deadlift stared at him. "What?"

"Butchery, genocide and enslavement," Mixmaster replied, "That I'm fine with; but wrecking such aesthetically stunning design after evidently undertaking such incredibly demanding construction would not mollify me in the slightest."

Deadlift nodded but didn't reply. He hadn't understood half the words his friend had said.

"Ah, good visitors!" came a voice from below.

Mixmaster and Deadlift turned their heads to see a confident looking, orange-skinned, suit-wearing, git come out of the Bellagio front entrance. Behind him was a retinue of terrified lackeys.

"Say," came the git's warm and friendly voice, "Are you Autobot or…"—He turned to a woman on his right, who whispered something in his ear—"Decepticon? Please… we would all very much like to know."

The two Decepticons turned and realised that there crowds of curious people had crowded the sidewalks and other casino entrances. Fat, rich business men and hopeful, unlucky tourists alike all stared up at the two aliens.

"Uh, Mixmaster?" Deadlift asked in their tongue.

"Deadlift," Mixmaster said with a smile, "I think we've found our rampage; but not the one you're thinking of…

"We," Mixmaster continued, this time in English, "Are Autobots!"

"Then, allow me to introduce myself," Julius chuckled, "I am Julius Jacobs and welcome… to the Bellagio hotel and casino!"

At which point, fireworks shot off the roof into the sky, detonating with a flurry of beautiful colours, while the crowds whooped and cheered. Mixmaster and Deadlift looked around with stunned faces.

"Deadlift?"

"Yeah?"

Mixmaster grinned. "What have we been missing?"

Deadlift grinned back. "Let's find out."

Together, the two not-Autobots headed into the Bellagio.

* * *

><p>"Uh, is this Colonel Gregory Thorne?"<p>

"_Retired, __but __yes__, I am__. Who am I speaking with?_"

"This Randall Irving, tech-comms officer for the 101st Airborne," Randall replied, only half lying, "I've been ordered to do a routine check on the clear-up operation during Operation: Firestorm. I heard you were the man in charge."

"_Yes… yes I was. What would you want to know?_"

"Was there a soldier under your command by the name of Timothy Dalton?"

"…_Dalton?_"

"Yes…?" Irving frowned. "Timothy Dalton; did he serve under you?"

There was silence on the other end. For a moment, Irving thought the general had hung up.

"_Listen carefully, Randall; meet me at this address. We need to talk, and not over a phone._"

"I-I've already got your address."

"_Not the one I'm about to give you; meet me tomorrow!_"

As Irving jotted down the address on a piece of scrap paper, someone tapped his shoulder.

Irving whirled around in surprise, to see General Mason looking down on him. The general reeked of sweat and his face was puffed up. As usual, he wore an angry frown on his face.

He peered over and saw the address Irving had written down. He sniffed.

Irving hastily hung-up. "Sir?"

"Randall," said Mason in a tone that obviously implied friendship, but seemed as forced as the square peg in the round hole, "I need your help with something."

Irving gave a slight frown. He didn't like the sound of this, not one bit. "What is it sir?"

"You heard the reports from Audi Sarabia; Optimus joined the battle, disobeying orders to stay within the boundaries of HARP Africa," Mason said, "Not only that, but he also brought along a _Decepticon_. Thank God it was killed in the battle."

"What are you asking, sir?" Irving asked vehemently.

"Optimus Prime disobeyed direct orders," Mason hissed, his eyes aglow, "And I believe _I'm _in charge; if it turns out he's still hiding Decepticon 'turncloaks', then that's all I'll need to kick him off this world for good."

Irving watched his boss with growing fears. _This is the guy in charge of protecting the Earth?_

"Track his path from Mekka, all the way into the goddamn jungle," Mason ordered, "Find out where he went and find out if he's hiding any more enemies up his sleeves."

* * *

><p>"So the Pillars are more or less fixed?" Arcee asked hopefully.<p>

"Whatever was switching them off seems to have passed," Kaminari replied from where she worked with spanner and wrench in the nearest Pillar, "It's just a matter of rebooting the system; like on a computer."

"Uh-huh," Arcee replied, not really interested in technology at all, "But are they fixed?"

Kaminari sighed. "Just a couple more minutes."

"You'd best hurry it up," Bumblebee mumbled impatiently, "They've just landed; right in the centre too."

"I hope it's Shockwave…" Arcee hissed, flexing her small but deadly fingers.

"I'd prefer Starscream," Bumblebee replied, gritting his teeth.

"I'd rather hope that it's just a troubled Autobot," Kaminari responded, "But Starscream would do just fine." She twisted in a bolt, her face a grim mask.

She leapt down from the Pillar. "It's done; Ratchet, activate!"

The hangar glowed blue.

* * *

><p>But in the next hangar, a much dimmer sight was visible.<p>

Mirage lay in the restoration chamber, his healing a constant battle for life. He wasn't visible; the steel chamber was completely solid with neither window nor glass. All there was were the horrid sounds of distant machinery, toiling hard at the nigh-impossible task.

The three kids looked up at the machine.

"I wonder what's going on inside," Marcus muttered.

"He's being tortured to within an inch of his life," Ryder replied, "First they'll saw off his remaining arm, then stick electrodes all over his body—"

"Why can't you just be serious for once?" Marcus asked angrily, "This war, the lives at stake and all the losses… is it just a game to you?"

Ryder shrugged. "A game would imply that I was actually getting amusement from something."

"So what is this to you then?"

"I'd prefer to think of it as a… dream."

"A nightmare more like…" Marcus grumbled.

Ryder shrugged again. "A nightmare would imply that I was actually getting scared from something."

"You're just full of hot air."

"No; hot blood."

"Whatever," Marcus muttered.

"You could die tomorrow," Stacy whispered.

The other two turned their heads towards her, a surprised look on Marcus's face.

"You could die tomorrow, Ryder," Stacy continued, "And do you think anyone would remember you?"

Ryder nodded slowly. "I once thought the meaning of life was to be remembered… but then I realised that it's impossible. After all, we may remember people like Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great because of their exploits thousands of years ago… but their immortality will eventually run out, and when that happens, they will fail to ever exist. So I do not care if I am not remembered."

The other two looked at him. Stacy wore a furious expression.

"Don't you believe that there's anyone else but you?" she hissed, "Don't you care for other's feelings? Why don't you just look past your own damned ego and find that there are people that can cry over the dead… that can actually mourn…" She looked close to tears.

"Because mourning is for the good," Ryder replied, seeming not to notice Stacy's distress, "And if there's one thing you can say for me, it's that I'm. Not. Good."

He turned and made for the hangar exit, another ignorant lecture dispensed.

* * *

><p>"Would you look at that," Ruination murmured.<p>

Ruination, Space Case and Overcast looked down into the crater. It was one of many similar craters scattered across the Moon, the grey dust still as the night itself, the stars beaming down in their thousands. But there was one difference from this crater and all the others; and that was the figure in the middle of it.

The three of them slid down the side of the impact detritus and approached the form in the middle, lying on his face.

"By Primus!" Overcast exclaimed, "It's Soundwave!"

The three of them stood around the body. None of them spoke or moved.

Eventually, Space Case took the trident off his back and poked Soundwave. The body moaned.

"Stop that," Overcast hissed, "What should we do with him?"

"We'd better drag him back to the _Ark_," Ruination muttered, "If he finds out we were here and we didn't help him, then he would flay us alive!"

"An accurate assumption," Soundwave said, causing the other three to jump.

Slowly, painfully, Soundwave got to his feet, muttering under his breath.

"Get Shockwave," he intoned, "We're going to murder those two."

"Which two?" Space Case squeaked.

"Mixmaster and Deadlift," Soundwave uttered, "If I don't have their heads by the next rotation, yours will suffice."

He strode past the terrified underlings, preparing words for Megatron.

* * *

><p>The soldiers of HARP rushed through the light, finding themselves on a deserted street.<p>

"Bloody hell," Lennox muttered, "This is The Strip, isn't it?"

"You never went?" Epps asked, surprised, "Me and Monique stayed in Caesar's Palace on our fifth anniversary, while she was with Fred."

"Now I remember," Lennox said, smiling while looking down the sights of his weapon, "What was it like?"

Epps looked down the ruined sidewalk, as the Autobots came through. "Hot as hell, and I lost six hundred bucks. Monique said she'd castrate me if I ever went gambling again."

Lennox chuckled, which he soon stopped.

"Where is everyone?" he wondered.

Although the road had been destroyed, the casinos had been left intact… and yet there was not a soul in sight. The Autobots and human soldiers gazed about, wary.

"It could be a trap," Arcee muttered.

"This is Vegas," Epps replied, "There should at least be one person out on the streets, or in one of the casinos; this place seems like a ghost town."

Lennox swiftly razed his hand up, indicating silence and stop. Everyone stood still. They let out not a sound.

There was a noise, off in the distance… like a great wave smashing on the shoreline again and again.

"What is that?" Lennox asked, "Optimus, what do you see?"

Optimus peered down The Strip, his optics acting like binoculars.

"Well…" he muttered, disbelief in his voice.

"What?"

"You will not believe this. Let's go."

They ran down the ruined street, lights in the distance.

* * *

><p>"Christ," Epps muttered, "Look at all of them."<p>

Hundreds, no, _thousands _of people crowded around the Bellagio entrance. They stretched out onto the empty lake and the sidewalk, each one baying and crying to get in front. The once beautiful fountain had been ground to dust, cars overturned or breaking under the flood of people who stood on them. They were all jabbering, all trying to get in front, all trying to push past the others.

"Optimus," Lennox murmured, "I don't like this."

"Neither do I, colonel," the Prime responded, "Let's see what fascinates these people so much."

As they came closer, the crowd began to notice the new arrivals. No sooner had they seen the Autobots as their tide turned and they started to swamp HARP.

"Stand back!" Epps ordered, "All of you; we are here to investigate what's going on here!"

"A couple of your friends are in the casino!" someone among many cried out.

"Well, we're here to bring them back," Lennox replied, and they ploughed onward, the crowd parting like the Red Sea.

Eventually, they came to the entrance of the Bellagio. Well, what had once been the entrance; the whole reception had been removed. The revolving doors had been demolished and the first floor was visible from where the ceiling had completely disappeared.

"Lock and load," Lennox ordered. His men complied.

They headed into the Bellagio.

* * *

><p>There was one thing that could be assured of the casino area; it looked nothing like a casino area.<p>

The slot machines had all been thrown up against a wall, the tables fashioned out of Indian mahogany utterly crushed, and not a card for poker, or ball for roulette, remained.

In the middle of the now huge room was a single craps table, raised high on some upturned slot machines. But it was dwarfed by the two players, empty barrels all around them.

"SNAKE EYES!" Mixmaster roared, and gathered up hundreds of chips from the table.

"This game's crap," Deadlift grumbled.

"Gentlemen, if there's any other game you wish to play, you need only ask," said Julius with a shark's smile. Although the appearance of the two Decepticons throwing dice around was surprising enough, the Bellagio's owner was even more shocking. He lay on dozens of gold bars, raised up above the table, lying on cushions so that his bed of wealth wasn't uncomfortable.

"Slots isn't competitive," Mixmaster sighed, "We can read through cards, so poker and blackjack is out and we can control the magnetism of the ball in roulette; so craps is the only game that is worth a damn."

Every member of HARP dropped their jaws.

Epps, mind reeling from the impossibility of the situation, simply said: "What."

The two Decepticons and the greedy human turned their heads.

"Ah, Optimus Prime!" Mixmaster exclaimed, getting to his feet, swaying, "It's good to see you… sir!"

"Optimus," Arcee muttered, "The barrels…"

"Yes, Arcee," Optimus replied, "They are drunk on motor oil."

"Come join us!" Deadlift slurred, "Just don't bring any loaded dice!"

"What is this idiocy?" Optimus asked, more confused than angry.

"This," Mixmaster proclaimed, standing up and splaying his arms out wide, "Is the meaning of life!"

He swayed slightly, before falling over with a large crash. Deadlift belched and chortled.

"Optimus?" Sideswipe questioned, "What do we do?"

"Hang on, Sideswipe," Optimus commanded, "There's still one person we haven't questioned."

Optimus stepped forward and pointed at the man reclining on the gold.

"Who are you?" Optimus asked, firmly.

"Welcome gentlemen!" the man cried, "To the Bellagio hotel and casino; I am Julius Jacobs, the owner! You are currently standing in the casino area, which is going through some renovations at the moment, but will be available for members of every sentient species for their enjoyment and leisure—"

"You allowed these cybertronians into your establishment?" Optimus interrupted.

Julius pointed to the gold all around him. "Yes."

"You do realise that they are Decepticons?"

Julius raised a hand to his mouth in mock horror. "Oh, my good sirs, I had no idea!" he exclaimed, "Arrest these two; I had nothing to do with anything!"

"Where did he get all that gold?" Epps whispered to Lennox.

"Ratchet once told me that some of the best scientists of the cybertronian race have the knowledge of equivalent exchange," Lennox whispered back, "In other words, alchemy. Mixmaster probably just converted either some tin or aluminium into that gold."

"Damn," Epps whistled in admiration, "Could we convince him to swap sides?"

"Mixmaster, Deadlift," Optimus intoned, "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us."

Deadlift looked up blankly, but Mixmaster leapt to his feet, his four huge shields covering all but his eyes.

"Oh, how scary," he snarled, "Well, Optimus Prime, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. What're you going to do now, heh?"

Optimus drew two blasters off his back. The Autobots and humans raised their weapons.

"Then I'm afraid," Optimus uttered, "I'm going to have to use force."

Something small and metallic shot out of one of the gaps in-between Mixmaster's shields and attached itself to Optimus's leg. He looked down in surprise. And then froze.

He stood still, moving not an inch. He had been completely immobilised.

"Optimus!" Arcee cried. She turned to Mixmaster, her glare furious. "Get rid of that thing!"

"I'm sorry," Mixmaster spat, "I didn't hear a 'please' in that, bitch."

Deadlift drew two battle pistols from his legs, to which Sideswipe, Bumblebee and Arcee responded by moving into fighting stances. Mixmaster just hid further behind his shields.

"Now listen up!" Deadlift cried, slurring every word, "Me and Lord Mixmaster are going to leave this here establi… establish… casino, as per your wishes, and once we're safely away, we'll release Optimus Prime from almost certain delays!"

Epps turned and used his sabot launcher to shoot the immobiliser from Optimus's leg. Almost immediately, Optimus was mobile and pointing a blaster at both Mixmaster and Deadlift.

"Ah," Deadlift murmured, "In that case, me and Lord Mixmaster are going to leave this here casi… casin… place, as per your wishes, and once we're safely away, we'll release… him!" Deadlift quickly pointed a pistol at Julius Jacobs, who was more shocked than frightened.

"M-Me?" he stuttered, stunned, "But I've given you the Bellagio; leave me out of it!"

"Let the human go," Optimus ordered, "You haven't harmed anyone yet, so I'm willing to forgive this little act of anarchy if you just—"

Seven immobilisers smacked into Optimus's chest. He sighed, and then froze still.

Mixmaster whooped. "You fool!" he cackled, "I never said I was afraid of dying! Pit, do you even believe that I wish to escape this? This is our last dance, our last rampage, our last… act. So step aside, little Autobots, and we may leave something left for you to trash!" He withdrew a thick blaster off his back, and the Autobots looked at it with fearful eyes.

"That's a rust cannon!" Sideswipe cried, and leapt to the side as a heavy, fat slug shot past the Autobots into a group of slot machines. Almost immediately, the machines turned bronze and rotten; they broke into dust, settling on the casino floor.

"Not in here!" Julius wailed, "Take this outside!"

Mixmaster turned to the human, a frown stretched on his face. "Your whining is really annoying, insect," he spat, and pointed the gun at him. Julius cradled his head as Mixmaster fired. Julius was unaffected by the shot; but the gold wasn't. Immediately, Julius fell through the red dust.

"My gold!" he cried, "Why?"

"Because you're quite a greedy little creature," Mixmaster snarled, "And greed makes me sick."

He stomped on the wailing human, crushing him underfoot. He wiped his foot on the floor.

"Damn stains," he muttered, "Can't ever get them off…"

The Autobots charged and the humans opened fire. Missiles and bullets shot past the Autobots toward the two drunken Decepticons.

If it hadn't been apparent before, Deadlift is practically useless in a battle. Sure, he could fight, both at range and up close; but he was no better than the average grunt. He was akin to a dog fighting a spear-wielding human.

Mixmaster, however, was different. He hadn't reached the rank of lieutenant by simply being an excellent scientist; and while he certainly was no Bludgeon or Starscream, his four shields weren't just for defence. If Deadlift was the dog, then Mixmaster was the spear-wielding human.

As Deadlift cried out at the attackers and hid behind his friend, Mixmaster smiled a savage, unholy grin. His teeth were pointed and sharp, like the claws on his hands. The missiles exploded upon him.

After the fire passed, Mixmaster lowered his shields. They were unhurt.

"Fools," he uttered, and put his feet back into a fighting stance.

Sideswipe reached him first before the other two, sweeping both arm-blades down in a vicious arc. Mixmaster raised his shields and deflected them, before leaping back, firing another slug from the rust cannon. Sideswipe leapt to the side, smashing into the charging Bumblebee, and they both fell in a heap on the floor. Arcee leapt over both of them, sending her serrated blade upwards to strike from beneath. Mixmaster blocked that as well, lashing out with a kick that sent Arcee skidding across the floor. Mixmaster raised the rust cannon for a killing blow…

Only for it to be knocked out of his hand, as Sideswipe sent in a supersonic strike towards his neck. Mixmaster swatted it away and landed a punch to Sideswipe's gut, before following up with a roundhouse kick to the head. As the Autobot fell to his knees, Mixmaster grabbed a slot machine and smashed it over Sideswipe's head. Chips flew everywhere as Sideswipe lost consciousness.

Bumblebee shot several plasma rounds from his arm cannon, all of which impacted on Mixmaster's shields to no effect. Mixmaster kicked the craps table at him, which Bumblebee blew to ashes. The Autobot then swung in combos of fists and kicks that Mixmaster successfully blocked, but Bumblebee was too fast to counter.

"DEADLIFT!" Mixmaster roared, "HELP ME!"

His friend leapt into battle, two long, narrow blades sliding down from his arms. He swung them downwards, Bumblebee rolling out the way in the nick of time.

Arcee ducked towards him so that the two Autobots and the two Decepticons stared each other off.

"It'll take us both to down Mixmaster," Bumblebee whispered to Arcee, "So you take out Deadlift first while I hold off Mixmaster."

"Watch out for the female," Mixmaster murmured to Deadlift, "She took on Commander Thundercracker once and almost killed him."

"That titch?" Deadlift guffawed. Arcee gave him a glowering stare, forcing Deadlift to shrink in on himself.

"You ready for this?" Bumblebee whispered.

"You ready for this?" Mixmaster whispered.

Both Arcee and Deadlift nodded.

The four of them flexed their fingers and readied their fists.

"Hey!" Epps called, "Don't forget about us!"

The four of them turned to see two platoons of HARP soldiers aiming their weapons at the Decepticons. Although Deadlift made a sound like a squashed mouse, Mixmaster turned his head to look at Bumblebee.

"Autobot pet," he murmured in their tongue, "You better call your masters off; they won't last long otherwise."

Bumblebee slowly nodded. "Colonel Lennox; this is between us."

"Bumblebee—" Lennox tried to argue.

"If we win, then there's no need to worry. If we don't, you should be able to clean up after us."

Lennox looked like he was about to argue, but after a moment he nodded and ordered his men back.

Bumblebee turned back to Mixmaster. "Now… where were we?"

The Decepticons charged.

* * *

><p>"…<em>And so today, as approved by the United Nations, the cybertronians Roadbuster, Leadfoot and Topspin will be banished from Earth <em>_permanently, with a possible pardon only available after eight years into their exile, __while Ricky Hart, their co-conspirator__ in causing the battles__ in Audi Sa__rabia, has been placed under military arrest and is awaiting trial…_"

The TV blared out the facts and figures to a silent audience upon Diego Garcia. No-one spoke. Some were shocked. Some were resigned. Some were relieved.

But there was one who didn't care either way.

"Well," Ryder spoke, "Good riddance."

The statement was rewarded with several angry glares from the audience in the room. Most just ignored him.

"But they were Autobots," Gerin said, looking down on him with surprise, "And they broke the rules. And disobeyed orders. You should have got on swimmingly."

Ryder gave out something that might have been a grunt or a chuckle. "I don't care about rulebreakers or deserters; they had no intelligence, so I couldn't give a rat's arse about them."

"Watch your mouth," Gerin warned, "With a dirty mouth comes dirty habits!"

Ryder shook his head. "Dirty hobbies, you mean…"

As he walked away, Gerin sighed. Marcus sidled up to her.

"Why don't you just get someone to kick him off the base?" Marcus asked, "I mean, it's not as if he'll be missed."

"Because anyone can learn," Gerin replied, looking down on him with a smile, "If their willing, then you can practically anyone anything. For example; if Hitler had a good psychologist who he didn't just dismiss, lives might have been spared, and his own legacy wouldn't be just a sad and angry story. You may look on history's tragic and evil figures with resentment or remorse, but true sorrow does not become apparent until after you realise what might have been."

"What might have been…" Marcus echoed.

"But what's done is done, isn't it?" came Stacy's voice. Marcus looked around, surprised to see Stacy speaking up again. She had a strange look on her face… it almost seemed angry.

"After all, Hitler _was _evil. That's a fact," she continued, "And there are no 'what if's or 'what might have been's; there is just what is fact, and what we can learn from it."

Gerin grinned. "Exactly, Stacy. But we shouldn't concentrate too much on the past, for missing out on the future. It's what lies ahead of us we should examine more often, and not to repeat the mistakes of those that have come before."

"And to make things better," Stacy argued, "It isn't just enough to not do evil things; you must try and achieve good, through kindness and loyalty. Those two traits can win over anyone."

"But not if they're suspicious," Gerin pointed out, "If a man distrusts your kindness and loyalty, if it seems unfounded, then nothing may ever change them."

"You were the one who said anyone can change," Stacy replied, frowning, "And if not through kindness and loyalty, what would turn someone from evil?"

Gerin smiled. "Love."

"Love…?" Stacy repeated, her face suddenly puzzled.

Gerin pointed to the TV. "Do you think the Wreckers would've grown up to be angry and frantic if they had just one person who loved them? Or would they still go down the road to isolation, even when shown affection?"

"You know what?" Marcus interrupted, "Love is a girly thing. Men need war. There, argument settled." He quickly turned and left, with Gerin and Stacy staring after him.

* * *

><p>Optimus juddered back to awareness and mobility, looking around him.<p>

"Sorry Optimus," Lennox apologised, "Those immobilisers stuck hard; we've spent the good part of half an hour freeing you."

"Never mind that," Optimus dismissed, looking around at the soldiers before him, "Where are the others?"

He noticed Sideswipe lying on the floor in stasis lock. Optimus immediately felt worried.

"Arcee and Bumblebee forced the battle onto the street," Lennox told him, "They told us not to follow; we don't know what's happened on the other side."

Optimus nodded. But try as he might, he could hear no battle.

"It's over?"

Lennox nodded.

Optimus turned towards the entrance.

"Then let's hope Bumblebee and Arcee triumphed."

Optimus and the soldiers left the Bellagio, leaving nothing but a wrecked casino and a red paste smeared on some bronze dust.

* * *

><p>The street that had already been carved up once before had been utterly demolished. Spent casings and burnt asphalt littered The Strip. With the exception of the buildings, The Strip was debris.<p>

And there was not a soul in sight.

"Not even a corpse," Epps muttered, "Looks like they all packed up and left town."

"Yeah," Lennox agreed, "But where are the Transformers?"

Optimus frowned. He remained silent.

They waited. They heard and saw nothing.

"Are we going to find them?" Epps asked at last.

"Stay here," Optimus ordered.

"Optimus," Lennox sighed, "We have helped you before and helped beat—"

"The battle is over, colonel," the Prime replied, "You search for casualties."

Optimus walked along the ruined road, smoke in the distance,

"Man," Epps muttered, "I got a bad feeling. A real bad feeling."

Lennox didn't answer. He just stared after Optimus.

Eventually, the leader of the Autobots was lost to the smoke.

* * *

><p><em>This is no ordinary smoke… this is an ion cloud, conjured up by one of Mixmaster's infernal devices…<em>

In his distraction, Optimus almost stepped on Arcee. He couldn't see even a few meters in front of him, and so he only saw Arcee at the last second. He crouched down low and quickly realised she was in stasis lock.

_It can't have been Deadlift… but Mixmaster maybe? Then what happened to Bumblebee…?_

Optimus kept on going, making a mental note of Arcee's location. He needed to find Bumblebee and fast.

_Mixmaster and Deadlift might have got away… but if Bumblebee's still alive, then that doesn't matter…_

And that's when Optimus heard a voice. A pitiful, lonely voice that wailed through the air…

…

And suddenly Optimus felt scared.

Fear did not come easily to Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots. He was utterly fearless in battle, and was not daunted when threatened or insulted. In fact, before that moment, fear only came from others; his fear, as little as it was, only came when he perceived others he cared about were in danger.

And yet the voice that carried through the smoke and ruin was one of such loneliness and sorrow, that Optimus felt his spark seize up with the soft verges of fear…

"Bumblebee?" he called into the smoke.

Only his nervous echo replied.

"Mixmaster? Deadlift? Lennox?"

No answer came, so he braved the dark fog to find where the voice had come from.

Eventually, it returned. But only as a whisper.

Optimus drew a keyblade from his arm and plunged into darkness.

* * *

><p>And when he found the source of the voice, he shook.<p>

There was fire in patches across the road, giving a horrific shadow to the already dismal scenery.

Bumblebee lay face down in the rubble.

"Do you see it…? Has… has the Matrix revealed itself…?"

Optimus paced past the other Autobot, noting that Bumblebee was in stasis lock, and made his way towards the voice. The fear gripped him.

It was not the fact that Mixmaster cradled Deadlift's corpse that instilled terror within Optimus Prime. No… it was the _manner _of which he did it.

He held his dead friend in his arms, while sitting on a bus… and the look in his optics, the loneliness in his voice…

Optimus gripped the keyblade in his hand.

"You fought hard… you fought well… but now it's over, isn't it? Now it's time to go… and never look back. But you gotta realise, that I'm here for you, and… and with friends like you, who needs enemies? Right? Right, Deadlift? Because the Matrix only allows warriors… to settle within. And you fought hard, and well… gave that yellow bastard a run for his money… b-but I had to clear up. So don't worry… it's dark now… but it'll get brighter before the end, won't it? The night that ends at last… the smoke that clears… the darkness that is vanquished… you'll brave it, won't you? Heh… remember that time that-that we mixed in that sulphuric… and h-hydrochloric… Mindwipe was chasing us for weeks… those… those were the days. The days… those days. Now, it's just smoke and a-ash. Y-You never liked ash, did you…? You always rubbed your o-optics… when you had acid on them… but you always turned out alright, didn't you? You were always blind… but then would always see. And now… a-and now…? Well, we bet didn't we…? We just gambled our lives away, in a f-fools rush… we might as well have stayed. Because… because the war's not so different, is it? Always there… always fighting… omnipotent. Omnipotent… you could never p-pronounce that word, c-could you? Heh heh… you never liked it, neither… don't worry; in the Matrix, you are all equal. No m-matter how much you bet in life, or gambled in existence… all are equal in the beyond… you could have had anything. You could have had anything… you could have had the Joker, or the Ace of Spades… and yet it would not matter; _in death, we are all the same_. So… it could have been me, as much as it was you. There was no decision to be made… no omnipotent being to cut our threads… so, really, there is no Matrix. There is no Pit. There is no Heaven. There is no Hell. We are all the same… the same… are you listening? You… and you… and even you… none of you will be spared… you all will die. A-And… and now it's my turn. My turn to go… goodbye."

It was only then, when Mixmaster had delivered his insane self-epitaph, did Optimus realise with horror that he hadn't just been speaking to Deadlift.

Lowering the blade, Optimus slowly turned around.

In the black smoke was a red sun. Blood red.

"Optimus," proclaimed the sun, "Now is not the time. Allow me to take the traitor, and you and your friends will be spared… today."

Optimus stepped aside without a word.

The red sun and its gargantuan darkness for a body passed Optimus and looked down on Mixmaster.

The much smaller Decepticon looked up. "H-He's… dead…"

"How very perceptive of you," the red sun replied, "But now, you will have to come with me. Deadlift must come to."

Reaching down with a hand as black as sin, he picked up Deadlift's corpse. Mixmaster let it go without a word of argument.

"You will lead on," uttered the mighty orb of red.

Mixmaster dropped off the ruined bus. Slowly, as a slave or prisoner would, he moved forward.

But then he stopped. He turned to look at Optimus with optics far beyond his years.

"And now what will you do?" he asked, "For if we are all equal in death, why not in life? Is there a difference between me and the Autobot at your feet? I go now to my death… so what will you do? Let your morals rule the day… or is it your instinct, hammered into you over the cycles? Heh... heh…"

Mixmaster continued onward, the indomitable sun following behind with his friend's corpse.

Optimus did not move.

They headed into the smoke.

Optimus did not move.

The blackened smoke became blue.

And still Optimus did not move.

_W-What am I…?_

* * *

><p><strong>2 Hours Later…<strong>

The C-17 lifted off, ascending into the sky to a destination unknown.

On the ground, every man saluted. The flags were folded. The twenty-nine pine boxes and the large metal casket that came back from Tibet were dots against the grey, wide runway.

One rifle company fired three times.

And soon after, the dead followed the living into the sky.

Meanwhile, in one of the hangars, Optimus sat staring at the ground.

He heard the rifles fire. He shivered.

_I just let Shockwave take him… like he was nothing…_

_But he was nothing wasn't he? He was a Decepticon like Megatron. Starscream. Soundwave. They are all the same…_

_He wept for his friend…_

_He wept for his own soul._

_He wept for every soul…_

A shadow fell across the hangar floor. Optimus looked up.

General Charles Mason stood in the doorway. He grinned. It was not a good look.

Optimus looked away, preparing for another verbal beating.

"You did good, Optimus," Mason said, shockingly. But Optimus wasn't deterred; the general wore that triumphant grin for a reason.

"One Decepticon corpse, without the loss of a single life. Of course, the stiff can be disputed as we haven't recovered him…" Mason continued, "But still; it's a result. The other Autobots, with the exception of Ratchet, are heading to Japan for immediate medical treatment; the Wreckers are heading to Mars, and not a _single _casualty. Honestly, I can't think of any better news…"

Optimus frowned.

"Oh wait!" Mason suddenly exclaimed, "There is something; I forgot… we have _two _Decepticon stiffs."

Optimus froze completely. He felt the fear he knew too well… the fear for others.

"It's a strange thing, you see… thanks to the brilliant efforts of our technician Randall Irving, I managed to find out _you _had been to HARP Angola. Funnily enough, we found a Decepticon there. I think his name was… Payload? Oh well… we sent some men down there to clean up. Unfortunately, the entirety of HARP Angola were quite mad; they were actually harbouring the Decepticon themselves! I know… unbelievable. After we arrested them all, Payload came willingly."

Mason turned to leave, but made one last remark.

"And if you're wondering, his remains are heading to Washington. The Pentagon wants to have a look at it. I thought you might like to know, seeing as you hate those Decepticons."

With a parting grin, Mason left Optimus alone to his thoughts.

* * *

><p>He was dragged from the pitch-black brig.<p>

He was dragged through the dark corridors.

He was thrown to the hard floor, and looked up to see someone darker than all before combined.

"Do not speak, Mixmaster," Shockwave intoned, "For I will be the one talking, and you will be the one listening… good. Soundwave wishes you dead. Megatron wants you dead. Only I can save you and I am willing to do that, but only on the account that you are the greatest scientist in cybertronian history. I also owe you a debt; after I lost my arm, eons ago, you were the one who manufactured this weapon of destruction in its place. I knew you had forgotten. But before I spare you, I must confirm one thing; your loyalty."

"I don't—"

"I ordered you not to speak," Shockwave uttered, "Do not attempt it again.

"Your loyalty; it has already been proven to be… shakeable, to say the least. So, I will say this; Deadlift was your friend. The only reason he _was_ your friend is because he is dead. There are only two factors to blame for his death: your idiocy and the Autobots. So, under my tutelage, you will learn to best both. I will teach you how to erase your failures and help destroy those who took Deadlift away from our service… and our company. They killed him, as much as you did. They killed him, for the simple necessity of… _satisfaction_. They killed him in ignorance, as much as you did. They took his life away, and now, you must take theirs as well. For a debt taken in life, must be owed with death. This is no simple duty; this is vengeance. But you alone will not be able to destroy those who bested you and bested Deadlift too far… you will need our assistance… and my tutorship. This is an order; you will return to the Decepticons and you will follow my orders to the letter. In return, vengeance will be yours, and Deadlift will rest in peace."

Shockwave simply walked past the kneeling scientist, and left.

Mixmaster looked to Deadlift's corpse. Slowly, methodically, he stood up and walked over to it.

"No… not rest…"

He drew the cannon off his back and shot the corpse. It turned to bronze dust before his sorrowful eyes.

"Rust."

* * *

><p><em><strong>There's…<strong>_

_**What…?**_

_**What is…**_

_**We are… **_

_**Something's not right.**_

_**Our predictions… they are changing!**_

_**Impossible…**_

_**It is with that Decepticon…**_

_**Something is about to happen…**_

_**The boy!**_

_**No… now is the time to rely on others; there is nothing else we can do.**_

_**So… this is it?**_

_**It could be.**_

_**This is… the end.**_

* * *

><p>Across the cosmos, something had brooded for long enough.<p>

The stars all shuddered, every single one of them terrified.

For in the dark of the moon…

Fate rolled in, under a red eye.

"Yessss… I HAVE DONE IT! WE HAVE DONE IT! IT IS COMPLETEEEEEEE!"


	19. Rust in Peace Part 1

Bang.

We're now onto the final story arc ladies and gentlemen; 'Rust in Peace', a three-parter that will wrap up Season 1. So far, this has been hugely enjoyable and you're all great people for sticking with me this far... thank you all.

And special thanks, as always, to **Megan666**for your reviews!

Please read & review!

* * *

><p><em>This is no dream. This is a nightmare.<em>

_There was a red glow, like the setting sun, so it wasn't all pitch black. But it was dark… in fact, just the right darkness. It wasn't dark enough to conceal the creature that had its back to him, but dark enough for Marcus's imagination to paint a being of absolute horror._

_The… thing wore skin as black as Shockwave's armour. It shrank low, as if skulking, its hands small and sharp. Its feet were just dark blotches against an unidentifiable ground, while a raspy, sly voice giggled._

"_W-Who are you?" Marcus asked, trembling._

_The figure turned its head towards Marcus and the boy almost screamed._

_It was a child, the sort of child one would drown at birth. It had huge pits of pure white for eyes, devoid of any pupils, while its mouth was filled with hundreds of grinning teeth. It seemed to study Marcus with its demonic eyes, drinking in every square centimetre of Marcus's skin. It grinned, each tooth sharper than a razor._

_Marcus gulped, almost whining with fear._

_The teeth were yellow, a dulled light against the moons that were within its sockets._

"_Little boy…" the creature drawled in a nasal voice, "Oh, you ignorant little boy…"_

"_Who are you?" Marcus said again, this time surer now that the original shock was over._

_The creature grinned._

"_I have come by many names," it replied, "Most of them lost in the passages of time… but you need not know them now."_

"_And why shouldn't I?" Marcus asked, quivering, "You're the one in my mind!"_

_The creature stared at him with those emotionless eyes. It seemed to be… considering._

"_Fine then, Marcus Twist," the creature replied, "I shall give you an example… the population of the Qout'zlaggrah gave me the moniker 'Malevolus', which roughly translates into your tongue as 'Chalice of Life'."_

_Marcus gulped in the face of this 'Malevolus'. He did not know what to say in the face of this terrifying beast._

"_Come now, don't be scared," Malevolus whispered, still grinning, "After all, we can help each other, can we not? You are my life… and I am your darkness."_

"_That was you, wasn't it?" Marcus asked angrily, "Thundercracker and the voices in my head! The ones who refer to themselves as 'we'! You're the one who's been giving me those hallucinations!"_

_Malevolus's eyes widened. "You're quick to catch on, Marcus," he giggled, "Yes, I have been sending you images of those disgusting creatures… but only to help you and your friends fight them. How many humans would have died if it weren't for me?"_

"_Are you an alien?"_

"_No… well, yes. It depends; is an asteroid an alien?"_

"_You're an asteroid?"_

"_Of course not, you stupid fool!" Malevolus spat impatiently, "Answer the question!"_

_Marcus shrank, scared all over again. "N-No… I d-don't think an asteroid is an alien."_

"_Then neither am I," Malevolus murmured, "I am simply… a happenchance arrival."_

_Marcus was confused, but did not state it to earn Malevolus's ire._

"_Well done," Malevolus chuckled, "You're learning."_

_Marcus held back a gasp. "Y-You know what I'm thinking?"_

"_I'm in your mind, aren't I? But enough fooling around; I need your help."_

_Marcus was silent for a minute. He seemed to lose himself in those huge eyes of Malevolus._

"_M-Me?" Marcus asked, fearful, "How could I help you?"_

"_For starters, shutting the fuck up with your POINTLESS QUESTIONS!"_

_Marcus stayed silent._

"_Excellent…" Malevolus drawled, "I need your help… to find out what's going to happen."_

_Marcus almost asked about it, before stopping himself._

_Malevolus grinned. "I am powerful indeed," he continued, "And I can read any sentient creature's movements to their death… but something has rattled my predictions. Some power has grown within the Transformers… something unexpected and completely uncontrollable._

"_There is something happening on the Moon."_

_Marcus shivered. The thought of the manic Decepticons on the Moon just gave him old nightmares…_

"_Cut out the dramatics!" he suddenly roared, "Tell me what you want!"_

_Malevolus pulled back slightly, not expecting this sudden reprisal._

"_I see…" he muttered, "I have changed you too much…"_

"_Changed me?" Marcus asked, both angry and confused, "What are you talking about?"_

"_I'm talking about how I need your help," Malevolus snarled, "And how taking absolute control would only bend your mind further…"_

"_What are you talking about?" Marcus repeated angrily._

"_Earth is about to be eradicated of all life," Malevolus uttered._

_There was silence after that. Marcus did not dare speak, while Malevolus simply watched him to see what he would say._

"_Well…" Marcus considered, "That's bullshit!"_

_Malevolus frowned. "Eh?"_

"_You get me into this shadowy dream world of yours, feed me a load of bullcrap about your name and stuff, ask for my help and then say the Earth is about to suffer the apocalypse!" Marcus cried, "I. Call. Bull. Shit."_

_Malevolus snarled and leapt at Marcus, knocking him down to the ground and straddling him, hundreds of teeth just inches from his face._

"_DO NOT DOUBT MY OMNIPRESENCE!" Malevolus roared, "I CONTROL EVERY INCH OF YOUR FUCKING MIND AND SOUL FROM THE BRAIN TO THE HEART! IF YOU DARE REFUTE MY INTELLIGENCE, YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE THE NIGHT!"_

_Marcus shook with terror, scared out of his wits. He trembled and squeaked as saliva dripped from Malevolus's mouth onto his face._

_Slowly, the creature drew back to his original position and Marcus shakily got to his feet._

"_W-W-What d-do you n-need me to do?" Marcus spluttered._

"_Keep your eyes and ears open; something is about to happen that has not been recorded in all of history… and never will again. The fate of your world, and possibly the galaxy, rests on you, Marcus Twist."_

"_R-Really?"_

"_No; you're just an annoying kid. Honestly, you probably can't do anything to change what's about to happen. But let me just tell you this; if you tell anyone about me, I will tear your throat out as you sleep."_

_Malevolax licked his teeth and grinned. _

And when Marcus awoke, he felt a warmth around his legs.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 19: Rust in Peace (Part 1)<span>

_Highly polished metal  
>The oil makes it gleam<br>Fill the terror chamber  
>Your mind begins to scream<br>Your life is like a trigger  
>Never trouble till you're squeezed<br>Now you crack a smile  
>As you give the gun a tease…<em>

—**My Last Words**

* * *

><p>It began, as it usually did, in the Decepticon camp.<p>

Barricade stalked down the pitch-black corridors and crouched under bent-in ceilings. He fumed silently, knocking down Overcast when the Seeker got in his way.

_Why aren't we moving? Apparently, Mixmaster, in all his stupidity, managed to wound nearly all of the Autobots… so why aren't we capitalising on this? Instead, we just remain up here, feuding with each other…_

He passed by the gambling pit where Hatchet and Thundercracker fought, other Decepticons ringed round it, jeering them on. In a flash of pointless anger he approached.

"Lieutenant Thundercracker!" he bellowed, "Is this any way for a senior officer to behave?"

Thundercracker caught the beast by the neck and, holding Hatchet at arm's length, turned to look up at Barricade.

"No, Barricade," Thundercracker uttered with a grin, "This is how a senior officer spends his leisure time… kicking the dogs." As if to prove his point, he dropped Hatchet onto his foot, booting him out of the pit and into the darkened areas of the hull. He laughed as Crankcase and Crowbar went to their friend's rescue.

"You are an embarrassment to the Decepticon army," Barricade hissed.

Thundercracker looked at the soldiers who crowded the pit, Seeker and non-Seeker alike.

"Do I embarrass you?" he cried at them. They roared their answer back unanimously.

Barricade turned and walked away, even angrier than when he had entered. He stalked down the corridors, with a need to kill something.

_Maybe those disgusting creatures in Flatline's laboratory will suffice…_

"You need to relax," someone drawled.

Barricade whirled and saw Fracture reclining in the shadows, cleaning her rifle. She smiled up at him. "You're too tense… you never know when someone might take that for granted."

"Take it for granted if you will," Barricade spat, "But do not expect to survive."

"And always so angry," Fracture sighed, "You know Barricade, kicking around the grunts in that ring relieves stress so easily…"

Quick as a flash, Barricade had a claw around her neck, squeezing tight.

"It's not a matter of stress," he intoned, Fracture scrabbling at his hand, "It's a matter of… _pressure_."

Fracture gargled and twisted, but she could not escape Barricade's grasp. She felt her neck begin to crack, felt her spine about to break in on itself.

Barricade dropped her to the floor, but not out of mercy.

There was… something.

Almost immediately, the sounds of the gambling pit stopped. There was silence throughout the ship.

And yet there was… something.

Something so dark and hideous, it could swallow up the ship and all those who lived upon it. Something so brazenly evil, it could wipe out the world at a whim and crush the moon between its teeth. Something so powerful, it could consume the galaxy in just a second and spit out a new one the very next.

"W-What is that?" Fracture spluttered, feeling it to, the choking forgotten.

"I don't know," Barricade muttered, "But I've got a good idea of where it is…"

He quickly ran down a few more corridors and almost slammed into Bludgeon when he arrived at the destination.

"You felt it to?" Bludgeon growled.

"The whole ship did," Barricade replied, "It shouldn't be long before Lord Megatron makes his way here."

They both turned to look at the door. They felt the power glowing behind it, the magnificence of what could be lurking just beyond a few sheets of metal.

"Are we going in?" Bludgeon muttered.

"Are you scared?" Barricade asked, surprised.

"I am scared of no creature," Bludgeon snarled, "Because I can best every creature… but does that mean I am not wary of arcane powers unheard of, or nervous when confronted with something that really shouldn't be? Barricade, you should feel that whatever's beyond this door is no mere mortal."

Barricade nodded in silent agreement. He turned to look at the door.

He felt the thrum of power, the beat of a dark heart…

"Let's do this," he muttered and moved his hand to push the door in—

—Just as another hand shot out and grasped Barricade's wrist. The Decepticon leapt back as the door to the infirmary opened up.

Flatline stood there, weary, but triumphant. He cradled something under his arm and stared about around, his eye piercing.

Whatever he was carrying was the source of the dark sensation. It was wrapped in many sheets, hiding it from view, but Barricade still felt the overwhelming sense of power from it.

"W-What is that?" he asked.

Flatline looked up at him, grinning like a madman.

"I've done it, Barricade…" he whispered, "I've created…"

"Created what?" Bludgeon growled.

Flatline let the silence continue for a moment, before splaying forth the wrapped bundle like a new-born child.

"DARK ENERGON!" he roared.

* * *

><p>Ratchet sighed. Today was not going to be good.<p>

"Is there a problem, old man?" Fearswoop sniggered, "What a shame… there a problem with the machinery? A malfunction? A ghost in the machine? A… sabotage?"

Ratchet deactivated the forcefield that held Fearswoop, who was still in abnormally large cuffs.

"Uh… Ratchet?" Fearswoop muttered weakly.

"Open your mouth," Ratchet ordered.

"Why should I?"

"Because otherwise I'll open it with a wheel jack."

Fearswoop reluctantly opened his gob, only for Ratchet to stuff a piece of metal inside. Before Fearswoop could spit it out, Ratchet gripped the Decepticon's jaw and welded it shut with a cutting laser. Fearswoop's moans of pain were blotted out by his sudden lack of lips.

"There," Ratchet said solemnly, "Now the Secretary of Defence can tour this island unsullied by your amateur and inappropriate manner of speech."

Fearswoop cried out something that was definitely not 'thank you', but whatever it was, it was completely muffled.

Ratchet nodded, satisfied, and turned back to the console.

The light was flashing again.

And, yet again, it was in Nevada.

"Optimus!" he cried, not happy in the slightest.

Optimus came rushing from a different hangar and saw the light as well.

"Where?" he asked immediately.

"The desert we know all too well."

Optimus nodded and turned to prepare the troops.

"Optimus," Ratchet uttered, "We're the last two Autobots in active duty… if it's the Decepticons, we may not stand a chance."

Optimus stood still and silent. Then, without an answer, he turned and left.

The Autobot medic was left alone to his thoughts.

"It feels like everything is coming to a head," Ratchet murmured to himself, "It seems like we're coming to the end…"

And Fearswoop didn't need a mouth to chuckle.

* * *

><p>The Decepticons swarmed the throne room, each and every one of them trying to get a peek at the powerful artefact Flatline had created.<p>

"It was simplicity really," he was telling a group of grunts, "All I had to do was splice dark matter with the beating spark of a cybertronian… the younger, the better…"

"FLATLINE!" boomed the Lord of the Decepticons.

Quick as a flash, every Decepticon near Flatline scarpered, and the one-eyed medic of questionable morals in his chosen field stepped forward. If he was scared, he hid it completely behind his unnerving and sinister smile.

"What is this… thing which you have created?" Megatron uttered from atop the captain's chair.

"This…" Flatline muttered dramatically, holding the sheets at arm's length, "IS DARK ENERGON!"

He threw the sheets off and it was revealed to every Decepticon in the room.

It was small, for all the dramatics. It was the size of a human television, yet dark as the night and much, much heavier. It glowed purple, a tiny light source in the huge room.

And yet the power emanating from it was staggering. Even Megatron leered from his throne to look at it, his optics feasting on the mighty mix of metal and things far beyond human understanding. The power echoed around the room in a rhythm like a heartbeat, and each time it pumped caused every Decepticon to hunger for it a little bit more.

"It is rather small," Megatron dismissed, but the hunger in his eyes did not lie.

"My Lord Megatron, it has taken me many months to make just this small amount," Flatline replied, "And it used up all our stock of dark matter in its creation; if I wished to procure more, it would take many years. That said, I shouldn't have to; despite its size, it is highly potent."

"Potent?" Starscream questioned.

"The energy within the Dark Energon is reacting a million times every nanosecond," Flatline replied, "The power within is highly volatile, highly reactive and highly… unstable."

"But what can it be used for?" Soundwave asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Flatline exclaimed, "Such power, when melded with a cybertronian's spark, could very well give that spark power beyond your wildest dreams!"

"Or utterly destroy whoever consumed it," Soundwave uttered, "Lord Megatron, this is foolhardy; the Allspark was nothing but power… remember what it did to your spark."

"I remember well enough, Soundwave," Megatron snapped, "And do not dare presume any decisions I have yet to make… this could win us the war."

"Or cost us it," Shockwave intoned, surprising everyone with his opinion. Shockwave usually did not have an opinion on anything, so when he did present one, it was usually worth listening to.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie," Shockwave uttered, "And with strange aeons, even death may die."

"Excellent poetry," Megatron snarled, "Now be so kind as to not waste my time and tell us what you mean!"

"I do not believe in such power," Shockwave intoned, each syllable like cannon-fire, "Seeing as we are the most powerful of all, why should we need this… 'Dark Energon'?"

"An excellent point, Shockwave," Megatron praised, turning to Flatline, "Why should we even use this?"

"Because if we were the most powerful," Starscream interrupted, "The war would be over."

Megatron rounded on Starscream, snarling. "And what would you suggest, Starscream?" he spat.

Starscream scratched his chin, considering.

"We cannot know for sure what it will do," Starscream concluded, "But something of that power must not be refuted, one way or the other… so really, it must be… tested."

There were several murmurs of agreement around the room. A test, yes, a test would be just fine… after all, if one of the grunts suddenly turned incredibly powerful, who's to say Megatron need be leader anymore…?

"And I'm assuming that you would want to be the first subject?" Megatron growled at Starscream, "A test would be fine… but not on someone ambitious."

"Then Lord Megatron, I believe we are at a loss," Soundwave sighed, "Pretty much every soldier in our army is power hungry to the point of—"

"Space Case isn't," Starscream added absently, as if innocent, "He's so stupid, he couldn't tell Earth from this moon…"

There was silence at that. The whole room turned to stare at Space Case, who was staring out a skylight dreamily. He hadn't been paying attention to the meeting, rather, he'd been daydreaming again.

_I'll show them all, one day. They'll see that I am smart! I am strong! I am fast! No-one would be able to catch me and I could explore the stars and the suns and why is everybody staring at me?_

He looked around at all the expectant faces. The grunts gave him angry looks. Starscream looked ambitious. Soundwave looked annoyed. Shockwave looked like Shockwave. And Megatron had faint bemusement in his optics.

"What?" he asked, thick as a plank of wood.

"Space Case," Starscream ordered, "Come here."

Space Case nervously walked past the menacing Decepticon army, each one of them giving glowering looks at him. He gulped before standing before the throne.

"All hail Megatron!" he squeled.

"Decepticon," Megatron uttered, "Do you serve the Decepticon cause and its master loyally?"

"Uh, yes. Yeah, yes I do!" Space Case jabbered, "Its lord and its cause! Yes I do!"

"Flatline," Megatron ordered, "Meld them."

Thundercracker and Ruination each held one of Space Case's arms, while Flatline grew close to him.

"Thundercracker?" he squeled, "What's going on?"

"Just relax," Thundercracker told him in his thunderous voice, "And it'll all be over."

Flatline sliced the Dark Energon in half with a laser. He held one half forward.

"What's that?" Space Case jabbered, panicking.

"_Revelations__…_"

Flatline shoved the Dark Energon into Space Case's chest.

Space Case screamed.

* * *

><p>Marcus stood to one side as the Pillars shone with all their light. He stayed in the shadows of the hangar, looking down at the floor. Stacy walked up to him.<p>

Marcus looked up, and just as quickly looked down. Stacy didn't know what to say.

"I know what happened last night," she blurted.

Marcus looked up, mortified. She suddenly felt very ashamed.

"It's not your fault," she said quickly, "Something's been messing with your head… if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine… but I can help, really."

Marcus was silent for a second. Then: "You don't understand."

"I know I don't," Stacy replied, "But I want to… I just want to help."

Marcus moved away from the corner of the hangar and proceeded to leave. Stacy hurried after him.

He came to a stop at the lagoon, staring across the cool, reflective waters. He sat down in the sand, causing a couple of small, red crabs to flee. Stacy sat down beside him, her knees up and her chin in her arms.

"We're just too small," Marcus mused, clumping wet sand between his fingers, "This war… I think everyone's forgotten why we're here in the first place. They use me to find Pillars, never paying heed to what we want or why…"

"But this war matters, doesn't it?" Stacy asked, "It doesn't matter how small we are, we can still help."

"But… is it the right thing to do? The more Pillars I find, the more bodies turn up. If I hadn't found those in Tibet, then Silverbolt and Sergeant Gabriel wouldn't have died… it's not as if we need them anyway. We're just getting them because the Decepticons would get them, and vice versa. It's just a petty excuse to continue this pointless war."

"But the Decepticons would never sue for peace."

"It's not about peace," Marcus muttered, "Really… the Autobots should just leave."

Stacy looked at him in shock. "But they were the ones who saved us! We wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them!"

"But Dead End wouldn't have got us if I hadn't touched that piece of the Allspark," Marcus replied, "And that piece of the Allspark was only there because of the Transformers… DAMN IT!"

He flung a rock into the lagoon, the waters rippling for a few seconds, before returning to perfect stillness. He looked down at the sand. Stacy didn't answer and looked to the statue of Kaminari Ishihara on the far side.

They remained in silence. The faraway humming of the Pillars turned silent as Optimus Prime and the soldiers travelled continents in seconds.

"I wish Gerin and Kaminari hadn't gone with the injured Autobots," Marcus muttered, "They seemed to be the only ones who cared about us."

"Japan is Kaminari's country," Stacy replied, "And Gerin had all the psych files of the injured with her… and that techie guy went off to find some retired colonel somewhere… the only ones left are the soldiers and they don't talk much at all…"

"It's like _Lord of the Rings_, isn't it?" Marcus asked, smiling for the first time.

"Huh?" Stacy too had read the massive tome when she was younger and remembered it quite well. But she failed to see a connection.

"It's when the Fellowship all split up," Marcus explained, "When Boromir died, everyone went their separate ways… that was their lowest point. The breaking of the Fellowship. And they never recovered from it…"

"But they all met up at the end, right?" Stacy punched him playfully, smiling, "They all got back together again, and the evil was defeated… so it was a happy ending."

"But this isn't a fairytale," Marcus said dismally, "And only fairytales have happy endings."

Stacy turned back towards the lagoon. She stared at the statue again, the last thing Silverbolt left them all…

"He died too soon," she whispered under her breath.

A little red crab passed near her sandals. She moved her feet back to stop any attempt at the creature snapping at her toes. It soon passed on, disappearing down a hole she hadn't seen before.

"Do you see it as well?" Marcus suddenly asked, "On the far bank?"

Stacy looked and saw only the smooth statue.

"I see the statue of Kaminari—"

"No, beside that. A… coyote."

Stacy stared at Marcus, hard. His eyes were far away, as if in a trance.

"Marcus…"

"It's staring at me. I've seen it before, when we went to rescue you from Starscream. It paced by my side and said something weird… something about freezing. And when I looked again, it was gone." He turned to face her. "I don't know what it means. It's gotta mean something, like what people believed long ago; that dreams had meanings—"

She kissed him. Her lips met his and the surprise on his face was total.

When she moved her mouth away, she looked him dead in the eye.

"Is it still there?"

"N-No."

"You need to stop worrying so much," she said, smiling warmly. She got to her feet. "Come on; let's go piss Ryder off."

"And how would we do that?" Marcus asked, bewildered.

"By being in his company." She laughed then and ran across the beach.

Smiling as well, Marcus chased after her.

* * *

><p>"Is some wrong?"<p>

"Your English is improving, yes. That's good; I learned that from your stupid internet that English is used all around the globe, so it's vitally important that you learn it in order to succeed in the world!"

"You told us, mastar."

"'Ter'. Mas-_ter_. Syllables boy, remember your syllables… but yes, something is troubling me. My former comrades that hide on the moon are doing something very stupid, I feel…"

"Mwalimu?"

"You silly, foolish child… good, you understood that at least! But yes, something bad is about to happen… but we can no more intercede as we can scream at the stars… heh. That reminds me of my old commander, actually. Ambitious creature… but wise. Not so wise as to realise ambition is pointless, haha!

"But I miss him, as do I miss all my brothers. Both Autobot and Decepticon. Sitting among you humans reminds me of them, when they were young… but I have come to correct you all, to send you down the path that they should have taken. It's too late to save them though… which is a shame, but not a sacrifice. I will miss them all the same."

"You tell us mwalimu, to never abandon brothers."

The Transformer looked down at the child soldier with pride.

"Aye… even now, I need to remember that even I can learn things. Thank you, my son… now go, join up with Kalim… move to Braavsi."

As the boy went on his way, the Transformer looked to the Moon and worried.

* * *

><p>The 4x4 bounced along the dirt track, the wheels spinning over dirt and stones.<p>

_He not only gives me a different address, but an address to a whole other state! Bloody Oregon… it's a jungle out here!_

Irving was nervous about this meeting; the investigation into the exploding dish at HARP HQ had been blamed on a random meteor, thanks to General Mason's meddling. Although Irving was slightly thankful for the fact that Dalton wouldn't be watching his back, the fact that absolutely no investigation had gone into it made Irving glower with anger whenever he thought about it.

_It's all because of the Secretary of Defence's visit tomorrow… actually, it's today isn't it? Christ, I've been through so many time zones I can't even remember what day it is…_

He turned onto an even dirtier road, following the GPS with less and less faith.

_What the hell does he know that he can't share at his own house? Gregory Thorpe, retired colonel, in charge of the clean-up operation in Egypt in which Lieutenant Timothy Dalton personally recovered The Fallen's staff… much like he did the Seeker's in Peru. This guy has a penchant for stealing teleportation technology… and somehow being in HARP Thailand._

_The records still say he's the base commander there… but how is that possible? He just keeps on appearing around the world, in completely different continents at a time… and whose side is he on anyway? The Decepticons? A human group? Is he actually on our side and I've just got it all wrong… no, he was the one who blew up that dish and disappeared the next day; he wasn't on the island, a hundred percent._

_But that's not the most troubling thing… he never appeared on security camera footage. I don't know if it was looped or not, but he just never appeared. I don't even have a mugshot of him…_

That got Irving thinking.

_It's like that film… 'The Blurred Man'? Or was it 'The Third Man'? Oh well, the point is someone was murdered in the middle of a street… and yet had never appeared in public before. Eventually it became apparent that the man never existed; he had been made up completely… although I forget why. Maybe this is the same? Maybe Dalton doesn't exist and someone just made up all the credentials. Who could do that…?_

But before he could think of more, he had arrived.

The wood was still all around him, but now he was at the foot of a hill and at the very top was a log cabin. It had been there a while, time and the rain having turned the wood black, with a small car outside the front door.

The path was too narrow for Irving to climb with the car, se he began to walk up.

_The colonel better be here… if he's led me out here for no other reason than amusement, I'll kill his pension._

He reached the porch and the front door, and knocked three times. The door did not open.

Irving knocked again. "Colonel Thorpe?"

No answer. Irving waited.

Eventually he tried the door knob. It surprisingly turned and Irving almost forced the door open. But harsh lessons from his mother had told him to never head into a house that wasn't your own, uninvited. So he left the porch and walked around to find a window.

When he came to one that looked into the large lounge area, he saw two people.

Gregory Thorpe was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. He was face up, shock highlighted on his face, two bullet holes in his chest. Irving recognised him from an old photo, but the retired colonel would never recognise anything ever again.

The other person stood just behind the door, a gun in his hand, pointing it towards the place Irving had just stood. He wore a black raincoat, black gloves and a black fedora hat that hid his face from view. And he noticed Irving at the same time as Irving noticed him.

"I'm sorry," the man said, loud enough to be heard through the window, "But Harbinger has designated you disposable."

Five bullets smashed through the window.

* * *

><p>Space Case fell to his knees.<p>

"Everyone, stand back!" Flatline cackled and the other Decepticons did so.

Slowly, steadily, Space Case got back to his feet. He looked around himself.

"Do you feel any different?" Starscream pressured.

Space Case looked down at himself. "Uh… no."

And then he started to shiver. His whole body vibrated.

The Decepticons all took another wary step back, save for Megatron and Shockwave.

Space Case started to shake. His optics glazed over.

"Flatline," Megatron growled, "If he kills us, I'm hunting down your soul in the Pit."

Flatline bowed his head as Space Case shook violently.

And then he suddenly stopped.

And then let out the most monstrous belch ever recorded. He burped for a whole thirty seconds, shaking the rafters and rattling the foundations. The Decepticons watched in stunned amazement.

When he was done, there was silence. Space Case scratched his armpit, looking slightly bored.

"Do… do you feel any different?" Flatline asked hopefully.

"I feel like a Decepticon," Space Case replied, "And I feel like I need some energon to consume; I'm hungry!"

"Flatline," Megatron intoned, "Whenever you bring another one of your trinkets, MAKE SURE IT ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING!"

The Decepticons all wilted under Megatron's fury, but none so much as the medic.

"O-Of course, Lord Megatron," Flatline grovelled, "B-But what should I do with the other half of the Dark Energon?"

"I couldn't care less," Megatron growled, "Throw it away or give it to Space Case, see if swallowing it does anything."

Space Case plucked the remaining Dark Energon from Flatline's grasp and swallowed it whole.

"Umm," Space Case muttered appreciatively, "Delicious."

"It took me months to manufacture that," Flatline whispered, aghast, "And you just ate it."

"The other half made me hungry," Space Case moaned, shrugging, "You can always make more!"

"I used up the ship's supply of dark matter!"

"Then make some more!"

"YOU. CAN'T. MAKE. MORE!"

The other Decepticons were filing out, losing interest as the power seemed to fade from the room. Space Case flew through the skylight, followed by Ruination.

"You feel anything?" Ruination asked.

"My tummy feels a bit funny," Space Case replied, glad that he was the centre of attention, "But I feel fine, really!"

"I wonder if Dark Energon makes you sick," Ruination murmured.

"Nah, I feel fine!" Space Case whooped as he did a barrel-roll through the air, "After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

><p>Optimus looked around, Lennox and co with him.<p>

"Our force has grown mightily small," Lennox muttered, staring into the familiar desert.

"So every man counts," came a voice behind him.

Lennox turned and saw Ryder striding towards them, ELLIPSIS on his shoulders. Although Epps started stringing together curses, Lennox just sighed.

"It seems we can't get rid of you, can we?" Lennox muttered, "We should lock you in cuffs."

"Then who would help you avoid defeat?" Ryder asked, "Face it; every time I've come with you, I've saved someone's ass or brought you a victory."

"Then you might as well come with us," Lennox admitted, "You're a good shot with the rifle and you always turn up alive and… obnoxious…"

Ryder shrugged, and looked about him.

"So where's this Decepticon?"

"We're not even sure if it is a Decepticon," Optimus replied, "It could be an Autobot or a defector…"

"You're about as likely to find a Decepticon defector as you are to find a fish that can walk," Epps muttered.

"You ever heard of an amphibian?" Ryder asked.

"Smartass."

Optimus looked around at them all. _At them small… there are so few left who can still fight. Chromia, Blazemaster, Silverbolt… and all the rest. They lie dead or injured. Only a handful resist the Decepticons fully…__ I pray that we find an Autobot._

_The Autobots of old… it used to be Ironhide, Elita-One, Prowl, Jazz, all the rest… and now? They are all gone… dead. Only I am left, the last Prime of a doomed dynasty… are they all really dead? Cybertron was destroyed, and the rest of us scattered to the stars… or are they? Are there any still alive out there? Are we the last ones? Out of all the planets in the galaxy, is this the only one left that still houses our race?_

"_Don't you see? Every action you have taken has killed our race and doomed the humans!"_

_Why did I let Starscream go? Was it out of mercy? Was it out of weakness? Was it because… he is right?_

_Now… now I am lost. Never before have I questioned my motives or morals, but now…? Now… what is left?_

He looked down at Colonel Lennox, who strode beside him. He smiled.

_That's right… the humans. They are why we fight. The Decepticons will never let them go, not while Megatron still reeks of death. These small aliens must be taught the errors of what we did, and shown how to avoid the mistakes we made…_

_In the end, it's their innocence that prevails. They are oblivious to the size of the cosmos and what horrors lurk within… so it is for them we fight. We fight for their future and to preserve their way of life… and we will never put ourselves before them._

They walked into the desert, the sun beating down overhead.

* * *

><p>Irving ran down the hill, slipping through mud and branches, silenced shots ringing after him. He scrabbled over a log, his knees sliding through mud, a tree splintering wood next to him.<p>

He heard an oak topple behind him.

He rolled out of the way, just in time, as the tree smashed the ground. Four more shots splintered the wood around him as he ran towards the 4x4.

_WHAT THE HELL IS HARBINGER?_

He slipped again, but quickly righted himself before slamming into the car. Cursing, he unlocked it before barrelling himself into the driver's seat. The windows shattered as bullets ricocheted around the automobile. Irving gasped with pain as one clipped his ear, but managed to put the key in the ignition and put it in gear. He slammed the accelerator. The car roared into life.

And didn't move.

He heard the tires screeching on the mud and looked into the rear-view mirror. With a sudden shock, Irving saw the man in the raincoat _holding the car bumper_. Somehow, his strength was stopping the car from driving off.

"COME ON YOU FUCKER!" Irving roared, "I'M NOT DYING OVER FUCKING TIMOTHY DALTON!"

But no amount of gears could shift the man and his inexorable grip on the car. So Irving went to his last resort; his small amount of training with the army.

He drew an SMG from beside the seat and aimed it out the back.

"When the Devil shits in your mouth, remember me," he muttered, and fired.

The shots were each like thunderbolts, their noise drowning out everything for miles around. The bullets smashed through the raincoat and fedora hat like they were made of butter, each round ripping straight through the man.

Irving stopped firing. His hands were shaking.

The man let go of the bumper and drew the silenced pistol out of his coat.

Irving punched the accelerator and roared into the forest.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Jetstorm called after them, "You're all supposed to report to Mixmaster!"<p>

"Mixmaster?" Ruination snorted, "He was demoted! Why should we report to _him_?"

"Because Shockwave ordered it," Jetstorm replied, clearly not happy either, "He's requested a recon party lead by Mixmaster with me, Ruination, Sonar, Rampage and Space Case."

Ruination grimaced, but Jetstorm was already flying back to the _Ark_.

"Hey, look!" Space Case cried, pointing to something small in the lunar desert.

"What's that?" Ruination muttered and they both went forward to investigate.

When they finally reached it, it looked up at them with both hungry and fearful eyes.

"It's a hatchling!" Space Case proclaimed, "It must have escaped from the _Ark_!"

"Or it's a human astronaut," Ruination muttered, rolling his optics, "You know Space Case, there's more to the world than stating the obvious."

The hatchling gurgled and tried to reach Space Case's hand. "_Energon_!_ Energon_!" it cried.

"Aww, he's so cute," Space Case mused in a very un-Decepticon manner.

"It's deformed," Ruination spat, "Megatron locks them in the dark and feeds them on the raw energon from the Pillars… it will grow up like Hatchet or Reverb…"

The two of them stared down at the hatchling, who looked back up with hopeful eyes. Eventually, it gave up and sat in the dust, whimpering.

"One day, Ruination," Space Case said, "He's going to be the future of our race. He's going to be one of the few left alive. He needs to follow the right example."

Space Case shivered.

"You alright?" Ruination asked, not concerned, simply curious.

"Fine, fine," Space Case muttered, "We better go find Mixmaster then…"

* * *

><p>"I think you guys made a mistake," Ryder mused, "Leaving just Ratchet and a skeleton crew at Diego Garcia."<p>

"There are SAMs, automated turrets, the most detailed alarm system in the world…" Epps reminded him.

"…Which Megatron can just rumble right over," Ryder finished, "You're going to need the firepower of a third-world country to take him down."

"You haven't even seen him," Epps reminded him, "It took all of us at Mission City to take him out… in the end, it was the Allspark that landed the final blow."

"That reminds me," Ryder mused, "Did you guys collect all the shards of its detritus?"

There were several frowns at that, and not due to the heat.

"We recovered a few," Epps said carefully, "And we're pretty sure we got them all."

Ryder shrugged. There was an uneasy silence after that.

Eventually, they all arrived at what could only be the crash site of whoever had arrived on Earth. A black scorch mark a couple of meters wide stretched along the desert, a few pieces of metal scarring the landscape.

"Nasty crash," Epps whistled.

"Well, whoever landed quickly left," Lennox pointed out. Despite the few loose pieces of cybertronian skin, there was not a transformer in sight.

"Sir!" called one of the soldiers, "Tracks!"

Large footprints in the sand led away from the end of the black scorch mark. Due to the shifting nature of the sand particles, it was difficult to see the exact tracks, but the size could be guessed accurately enough.

"I'd say this guy is about as big as Bumblebee," Lennox mused, "Could it be Mixmaster again?"

"You believe he escaped execution?" Optimus replied, "In all likelihood, Shockwave killed him. There is a chance he escaped, knowing his wily ways with science, but why would he return to the same state of his crime, let alone the country?"

"Who then? Skywarp, Soundwave… it could have been anyone. Well, except Shockwave and Megatron, that's obvious from the tracks."

"It's no use guessing," Ryder muttered, "We might as well go find this guy."

"Where's he heading?" Epps called.

"West," Lennox noted, "The town of Fort Derrick is thirteen miles that way."

"Let's go then," Ryder finished, pulling a brochure out of his duster, "Hey, there's a Harley Davidson shop in Fort Derrick."

"W-Wait, what?" Epps asked, "What have you got there?"

Ryder waved the brochure. "An information pamphlet of the town."

"Where'd you get that?"

"My coat."

"Seriously."

"I carry all sorts of things," Ryder shrugged, "I thought that would've been apparent by now."

"Well it isn't," Epps replied hotly, "How do we know you haven't stolen equipment off the island?"

"Besides this?" Ryder said, waving ELLIPSIS in the air, "I guess you'll never know."

"Don't play games with me kid."

"Then start writing some new rules," Ryder replied, lighting a cigarette, "I haven't broken any in a while…"

"Then choke on that smoke," Epps muttered.

But Ryder heard him. "It's not the smoke people die of… it's the overdose. Too much of a good thing will kill you. Too much of a bad thing will kill you. The only way to survive is to have too much of both… and I assure you, I have plenty."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Nothing ever makes sense if you don't try to understand it."

* * *

><p>"The kids locked away?" Mason asked.<p>

"Yessir," replied Lieutenant Arnold.

"All security systems online and working?"

"Yessir."

"All soldiers are aware that they must not reveal what really happened to the communications tower?"

"…Yessir."

The private plane taxied onto the runway. The general and the lieutenant stood at a hangar entrance. Mason was sweating from both the heat and the tension of the upcoming inspection.

"Why wouldn't she send an investigator? Why did she request that she come herself?" Mason muttered.

"I believe it's because she has had hands-on experience with the Autobots before," the lieutenant replied.

"I was talking to myself," Mason growled.

"Yessir."

The small plane braked just outside the hangar and some steps were quickly rolled towards it. The side-door opened, allowing the Secretary of Defence and several soldiers to descend. Mason gave a very unwelcome smile while the lieutenant stood to attention.

"Charlotte," the general beamed, "I swear, your face just gets—"

"Spare me the flatteries Charles, before you burst," Charlotte Mearing interrupted, "And wipe that hideous smile off your face."

"Something seems amiss," Mason said, still grinning, "The ice queen is usually a lot warmer."

"Only because she realised she was sharing a sty with a pig," Charlotte said, and pointed at the plane, "Get on."

Mason's smile dropped immediately. "What?"

"What, _ma'am_," Charlotte replied icily, "When unsatisfactory results come from a great army, its leader is the one at fault. You are being relieved of duty as commander of HARP, general. Get on the plane; you'll have a long trip back home."

Mason turned redder than a fire extinguisher. "Y-You can't do this!" he spluttered.

"General, I speak with the authority of the President and I was elected his Secretary of Defence. That means I have complete control over all aspects of what defends us. Including HARP. Now get out before I demote you."

Mason stood as still as statue for a few seconds. Then, without another word, he headed for the stairs.

"You," Charlotte said to the lieutenant, "What's your name soldier?

"L-Lieutenant Frederick Arnold, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am. Do I look like a ma'am?"

"No, uh, miss."

"You're in charge of the island now, Fred. Where's this tour I was promised?"

Terrified, Lieutenant Arnold led her into the hangar.

* * *

><p>"This is boring," Sonar moaned from beneath the camo netting.<p>

"Your whining will soon get on my nerves," Mixmaster said coldly, "The more it does, the more likely I am to fry you."

"What kind of a recon mission is this?" Rampage groaned, "We're staring at a Pit forsaken sea!"

The six of them were hidden in a jungle, the only thing between them and the Indian Ocean being a large, empty beach. They lurked under camouflage netting as Jetstorm and Mixmaster set up a strange sort of camera.

"What's that strange camera thing?" Sonar asked.

"It's not a camera," Mixmaster hissed, "Me and Flatline and… Deadlift worked on it a while back. It's a long-range imaging recorder; there's an island way out to sea where the Autobots have made their base… Shockwave claims this is the best spot in which we can secure decent imagery of the Autobots and their plans."

"Why don't we just assault the island?" Ruination grumbled.

"Because Soundwave claims it's more secure than Fort Knox."

"What's Fort Knox?"

"A place with gold," Mixmaster muttered, "Bother someone else."

Ruination turned to Space Case and found the other Decepticon bent over, clutching his stomach. His eyes were afire.

"You alright?" Ruination asked gruffly.

"Fine," Space Case whined, "Just the heat, that's all…"

"Then turn on your sinks, use your energy converter and turn down the internal temperature."

Space Case looked through the jungle to stare at the sun.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" he murmured, as if in a trance.

"Not for long!" Jetstorm called from where he set up the 'imaging recorder', "There's a monsoon rolling in soon!"

"That is not dead which can eternal lie," Space Case whispered, "And with strange aeons, even death may die."

Everyone ignored him at that, except for Mixmaster, who froze at setting his machinery up. He turned, very slowly, towards Space Case.

"I heard that somewhere," he muttered, "Who said it…?"

"I heard it too," Space Case replied with a shaky smile, "And… I don't understand what it meant…"

Mixmaster frowned, slightly confused, before returning to the machine.

Ruination watched Space Case with careful optics.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe that big oaf locked us in here!" Stacy exclaimed, looking around the small room. Containing two beds, a sink, a shower and a bucket to do your business in, it was the ideal pragmatic room.<p>

"If we get discovered by the Secretary, then we'll get kicked out," Marcus reminded her, "And although I don't like him as much as you do, at least we get to stay here."

"But he's only locking us in because he'll get demoted if we are found out!" Stacy shot back, "He only cares about his rank and file… and that pot belly of his."

Marcus grinned. "I can just imagine him tucking into a giant turkey with a shovel."

Stacy giggled despite herself. "Stop that!"

"And his face is covered in trifle."

"St-Stop," Stacy laughed.

"And he's wearing a monocle!"

Soon they were both rolling on the floor, laughing, when they heard two voices at the door.

"You know, lieutenant, male/female relationships are strictly prohibited, pretty much everywhere in the armed forces."

"I-I-I k-know that, miss."

"Then pray tell what's going on behind that door."

"I-I-I—"

"Say 'I' one more time and I'll ready another plane."

"…"

"Unlock it, _now_."

A key turn later and Charlotte Mearing stared, open-mouthed, at the two teenagers on the floor.

"Well," she admitted, "This was the last thing I was expecting."

"Uh," Marcus muttered.

"You're the Secretary of Defence, aren't you?" Stacy asked, standing ma'am, "Uh, sorry we're presented like this, ma'am."

Charlotte bristled at the title, but was more enraged with the sudden appearance of minors on a top secret army base in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

"Are there any more children on the base, lieutenant?" Charlotte asked Arnold, acid dripping in her tone, "And don't you _dare_, stutter."

"We're not children!" Marcus argued.

"One more," Arnold muttered, crushed in both soul and spirit.

"Where is she?"

"He," Arnold corrected nervously, "And… I think he's with Optimus and Lennox in Nevada."

Charlotte gave a glare so withering and ugly that it could have made a bear soil itself. "This inspection just gets better and better… I've only found one Autobot in the Human/Autobot Resistance Pact, dismissed a general and found out that _children_ can wander the island at will!"

"Wait!" Stacy interrupted, "Did you say you had dismissed a general?"

Charlotte nodded. "General Mason is no longer with HARP."

Marcus made a fist and whispered; "_Yes!_" much to Charlotte's amusement.

"Lieutenant, prepare a plane for these two," Charlotte sighed, "They're going home."

A voice suddenly sounded through the lieutenant's radio.

"_Lieutenant Arnold this is Corporal Baker,__ come in__,_" came a woman's voice.

"Go, corporal," Arnold replied.

"_Ratchet says he's got another hit, sir. Says that it was stealthed, so it was delayed. He says that they landed almost an hour ago._"

"Where?"

"_The Indian coast, sir_."

The lieutenant grimaced. "Contact Optimus and Colonel Lennox; their search can wait. India's so close that they can start launching rockets from wherever they are."

"_Yessir_."

"Ma'am," Arnold said, putting on a commanding tone, "I mean, miss, you should really get away from the island; you could be in danger here."

"I've been to Iraq, I've been to Sierra Leone, I was even there when Sentinel tore open the old NEST HQ. This is a perfect time for me to inspect how you handle a real operation, lieutenant."

The lieutenant nodded and strolled away.

"You kids stay here," Charlotte warned, "This is going to get messy."

* * *

><p>Thunder rolled, but no rain came. Dark clouds gathered above the beach as lightning split the night.<p>

"The damn rain's going to interfere with the recorder!" Sonar roared over the thunder.

Space Case was shaking now, his whole body wracking. Ruination stood by him, now beginning to get concerned.

"Space Case doesn't look well," he called.

"Boo hoo," Rampage spat, "Give him a big kiss, see if that makes him feel better."

Mixmaster, who had lost a friend all too recently, was more sympathetic. "Call Soundwave and see if he'll evac him."

But Ruination couldn't hail the eye beyond the sky. "The storm's interfering! Communications are down!" he cried, "Likely Soundwave can't see us either!"

"Ruination," Space Case murmured.

The other Decepticon bent down low. "What is it, Space Case?"

"I feel… pain…"

Ruination had no idea what to do. He looked around him, but all he saw was the darkened trees.

"Remember Dead End?" he said, "Remember when he broke his neck? We had to drag both him and Barricade for miles, remember? He got better…"

"He's… dead…" Space Case whimpered, "They're all dead…"

"Well, hang on, it'll all be over soon," Ruination told him, but not even he believed it.

Space Case then let out an ear-shattering wail that carried over the jungle, barely drowned out by the storm. The other Decepticons looked on with annoyance.

"Shut him up!" Jetstorm roared, "The whole insect army will be on us before long!"

"I… I should never have eaten…" Space Case muttered.

"Yeah… but what's done is down, right? So you gotta deal with it, get through it…"

"Ruination… I see him…"

"Who? Dead End?"

"No… Primus…"

Ruination was now incredibly worried. "He's hallucinating badly!" he cried at Mixmaster.

"Then give him mercy and put a bullet in his brain!" Sonar cried back, "We don't have time to help him!"

Ruination tried a different tactic. "What does he look like, Space Case? What does Primus look like?"

"He… he's wreathed in light… and burns with the fire of souls…"

"That's a bit heavy for you, mate…"

Space Case suddenly looked at Ruination with such a ghostly expression that the other Decepticon was rooted with fear to the spot. He gaped at Space Case, whose optics were out of this world.

"I see now…" Space Case murmured, "The past, the present… and the future. I see the destroyer, his maw devouring suns, his tiny army, more powerful than all of us…"

"Space Case, what are you talking about?" Ruination asked, panicking.

"I see the blood of a billion creatures, all weeping ice, and the jewels of the cosmos…"

"Space Case, snap out of it!"

But then Space Case was on his feet, and walking from the camo netting.

"Bring him back!" Sonar screeched.

Ruination ran after him, his huge feet leaving footprints in the sand, and grabbed Space Case by the arm. "Come on, mate, come back to us… the Decepticons!"

"There are no Decepticons," Space Case murmured, "I denounce them."

Suddenly, they were all on the beach, the five Decepticons trying to drag just one back into the netting. "YOU IDIOTS!" Mixmaster roared.

"Among the living, among the dead," Space Case was jabbering, "Either way, they all **rust in peace**."

The sudden darkness behind Space Case's tone caused them all to stop and let go of him. They stared in fear and shock.

"I see the stars," he whispered, "I see the fires. I see the hearts. The spark of life will be extinguished and only the spark of the destroyer will survive… it's all so clear now… **PRIMUS LIES!**"

Space Case screamed, the sound piercing the sky and the whole world, each note radiating through the air as thunder smashed the atmosphere asunder. Four lightning bolts converged on Space Case, illuminating him as the scream carried on and on and on.

And then the darkness consumed him.

Shadows worked their way up his body, wrapping round his legs, slithering up his torso, injecting into his arms, working their way into his head, twisting his mouth. Purple lightning struck out from his soul, smashing into the Decepticons.

As Space Case's metamorphosis began, thus began the Decepticons dissolution.

Sonar was the first to go, screaming as his skin melted, draining through the lightning as it pooled onto the sand. His optics melted as well, his body in agonising pain as his spark was burned alive in his own cooked armour. A pool of molten slag was all that remained.

Rampage's head exploded, as his feet turned to liquid. His brain shattered as knowledge unknown by all creatures fed into his head, his mind utterly obliterated. He fell forward, purple lightning streaming from his body, slamming into Jetstorm…

He had been smart. As soon as Space Case had screamed, he had taken off in jet form. But no amount of running could save him now. A lightning bolt struck him with the force of a solar cyclone, his entire body exploding into flames. Jetstorm's piercing wail echoed through the whole of India as his burning ashes were lost to the sea.

And no amount of shields could save Mixmaster. They melted with him, his optics popping and sparking, blowing into his head. Unmatched agony and pain ran through him, every nerve and every synapse exploding with his torment. He fell in on himself, the pool of molten liquid that had once been his body reduced to nothing more than steam and vapour.

And when the lightning finally stopped… then came the rain. It fell on both Ruination and… what had once been Space Case.

His body was darker than Shockwave, darker than night. In fact, no light pierced or reflected off of him. It was nothing but shadow, the darkness coming off in tendrils from his form. Where once there had been a golden trident, a silver staff was in one hand, the top glowing with purple energy. Besides that, the only source of light came from two immeasurably knowledgeable optics located within his head, both dark red.

Ruination fell to his knees in terror. Thunder rolled again. The Decepticon looked up at what had once been Space Case.

"S-Space… Space C-Case…"

"**I am no longer the Space Case**** you knew**," came the reply form within the shadows, "**I have become more… I am Space Case reborn… I am the destroyer's messenger, the vassal for his power… I am… THE PRAETORICON!**"

The shadows turned to the ocean.

"**And now the first blow must be struck**," said Space Case, the Praetoricon, "**Against those who would tempt to stop us… we will bury the forgotten later.**"

Ruination looked about him. "B-But there's naught to bury…"

"**Then make sure they are not forgotten**," came Space Case's reply, "**For as long as the memory remains, the dead live on. Come, we must eliminate ****those who would seek to delay our plans…**"

"O-Our plans?"

"**Yes…**" the Praetoricon replied, "**For we must destroy this wretched rock, and all who live upon it.**"

He pointed a finger wreathed in shadow towards an island that could not be seen with natural eyes.

"**There lies our first objective… the end is here. As the sun sets, the world will sleep. As the sun rises, the world will die. In the end, there is only I… FOR I WILL ERADICATE ALL OF LIFE!**"

He shot into the thunderstorm and Ruination, terrified and weak, followed him.

* * *

><p><em>And it feels right this time<br>On his crash course with the big time  
>Paid no mind to the distant thunder<br>Today fills his head with wonder…_

_Don't it feel right like this?  
>All the pieces fall to his wish…<br>_


	20. Rust in Peace Part 2

I am very, _very _sorry for the delay; I'm up in Scotland, a land as beautiful as it is lacking in Wi-Fi hotspots! The hotels we've stayed in have utterly failed in their promise of free Wi-Fi and the ones with a price haven't worked at all!

Oh well; better late than never!

Thank you, **M****ytical-Mist-Devil **and **Megan666 **for your reviews! :D

Please R&R!

* * *

><p>Optimus Prime froze. He stood still as a statue, staring straight ahead.<p>

But he wasn't the only one: the soldiers of HARP felt it as well. Some of them shuddered, some of them gasped… but all of them froze.

Except for one.

"I told you it wasn't wise to leave Diego Garcia with a skeleton crew," Ryder sighed, "And we all just felt something bad…"

"What was that?" Epps gasped, "It was like a scream… that didn't travel through the air…"

"That's either the sound of death," Ryder mused, "Or the sound of new life… but honestly, there isn't much difference between the two."

Optimus gazed around him. They were miles and miles from Diego Garcia, having taken what little strength the island had… and now something awful was about to happen.

_What have I done?_

"Ratchet, come in!" Optimus called into his communicator.

"_Optimus, you felt it too?_"

"Yes; you need to get us all back to Diego Garcia, _now_!"

"_It'll take a little while__,__ Optimus__… just hang on…_"

But as Optimus closed down the communication, he knew there was another problem.

"What about the cybertronian who crashed here?" Lennox asked, "He's probably hiding in Fort Derrick, laughing as we run away."

"Don't worry," Ryder muttered, "It looks like it's up to me to save the day again…"

"Ryder?" Epps looked at him with a frown.

"You guys head back," Ryder told them, "I'll find this runaway. If he's a Decepticon, I'll waste him. If he's an Autobot, I'll bring him back to you… if there's anything left of you, that is."

The human soldiers were visibly worried, but Optimus gave a smile that was all too rare these days.

"Then go," Optimus replied, acquiescing, "But you must return."

Ryder nodded, slung ELLIPSIS across his shoulders, and walked into the west.

"You sure that was wise, Optimus?" Lennox asked.

"There is a sense of… destiny about that child. I do not understand him, nor seem able to reason with him… those are the makings of a very scary human."

"Then why trust him with such an important mission?"

Optimus looked down at Lennox.

"Because I believe ours is all the more important."

* * *

><p>"<em>He is coming," Malevolus hissed, "In all likelihood, this is your last night left alive."<em>

"_And yours!" Marcus shouted, unbowed, "From what I can tell, you're stuck here with me!"_

_Malevolus's great white orbs regarded Marcus with malevolence._

"_You have grown bolder, I see… and stronger too… Marcus, would you like to know the traitor among you on this island?"_

_Marcus stared up at him. "There is no traitor."_

"_That's what you think," Malevolus cackled, "You foolish child… well, it can't be helped now. We are all going to die and there really is naught we can do about it."_

"_I don't understand! Who's going to kill us?"_

"_The destroyer's messenger; I do not know who exactly, but I know his power."_

"_Can he be beaten?"_

"_Only if he allows himself to be."_

_Marcus shivered._

"_Do you have any regrets?" Malevolus said with a smile, "Before I release you to those who are awake?"_

"_Only questions; who are you? Why are you here? What do you want with me?"_

_But Malevolus only grinned a hundred teeth and cast Marcus back into the pit of despair known only as reality._

"_This is the end," Malevolus said, sadly, "My history, my legacy, my power… left to burn in the fires of destruction. And I will never know them again…_

"_This is the end."_

* * *

><p><span>Episode 20: Rust in Peace (Part 2)<span>

_Deep water all around me  
>And circle sharks all about<br>Deep in trouble, had me turned around  
>Man up… and one man down<em>

_You pretty women, gather round  
>You can't pick up, not a single sound<br>You feel you're winning, that's what it's all about  
>Knowing you were winning…<br>Oooooohh…_

_And it could be the very last time…_

—**Rock'n'Roll Dream**

* * *

><p>They were the riders of the storm. Shooting past blackened clouds and purple lightning, Ruination and the Praetoricon made their way, mile by mile, to Diego Garcia.<p>

Ruination had never been more terrified in his life. What Space Case had done to the other Decepticons had been unnatural… destructive… unstoppable…

"But why?" he found himself asking the storm, "Why did you kill them? And why did you spare me…?"

"**With every passing second, I regret taking their lives****,**" Space Case replied with the voice of a god, "**But the energy that flowed through my veins could not be controlled by one such as me… so I chose to release it, pure and destructive. It consumed them all, and that I utterly regret; no more should the lives of our race be taken in this foolish, naïve war.**"

"…"

"**And I spared you, Ruination, because I remember the times we spent together; our journey, ****you****, Dead End and I, as we struggled with a would-be corpse. I was too ignorant and too insolent in the days of old, Dead End too cowardly and too obtrusive while you were too ****blind**** and too foolhardy. But those are the days I remember… the days where I learnt to call you friend. ****And I still believe that counts for something, in the last days of planet Earth.**"

Ruination did not know what to say, so he remained silent. But Space Case's words had chilled him to the core, for a reason he did not know. A lightning bolt slashed by, too close for comfort, and he rolled further into the storm.

"Space Case!" he called into the opaque mass of darkness, "Where are you?"

"**With you always, my friend,**" came the storm, and Ruination found himself being forced down a direct path through the clouds and the night, "**But remember; we will not destroy the Autobots. They are as ****misguided as the Decepticons****, fighting for no other reason than just fighting. We must teach the error of their ways and have them join our inexorable quest.**"

"B-But what is our quest?"

"**Isn't it obvious?**" the Praetoricon questioned with mild disappointment, "**Tell me this Ruination; why do the Autobots fight?**"

"To defeat the Decepticons," Ruination replied, believing he knew the answer.

"**No.**"

Ruination continued through the gathering storm, his Osprey form avoiding the lightning strikes that were ever omnipresent. He mulled the question over in his mind, puzzling and wondering.

And then it clicked.

"T-The humans?"

"**Exactly. And if the humans are taken out of the equation, then what will happen?**"

"The Autobots would have no reason to fight!" Ruination exclaimed, prideful of his epiphany.

"**And…?**"

"And… they would have no choice but to join us!"

"**Then let us go, and see if we can convince Optimus Prime to join us beforehand.**"

"What about Lord Megatron?"

"**He is lord of nothing,**" the Praetoricon thundered, "**That child will forever bend the knee to whoever has the most power… which, until now, was him. Optimus Prime will be harder to turn because he is stubborn, ignorant and, above all, foolish.**

"**But now we will see; for we have arrived.**"

Ruination gulped and hoped that the defences of the island would be unable to beat a thunderstorm.

* * *

><p>"<em>Squad Alpha to bay 19, Squad Bravo to the western shingle…<em>"

The klaxon blared out information every second and Marcus's head filled with pointless facts about the island defences. Soldiers were running down corridors, toting all manner of light artillery, each man gritting his teeth for the coming battle. Beyond the steel walls, thunder rocked the night.

"What's going on?" Stacy roared.

"The island's about to come under attack," Charlotte told her, walking briskly, leading them towards somewhere safe, "We're getting you two to the archive vault; it's the deepest place on the island."

"Where's Optimus?" Stacy pressed, "Shouldn't he be here by now?"

"If there's one thing I dislike more than things not going to plan," Charlotte muttered, "It's kids."

They made their way onto the runway as an F-15 roared into the sky. They crossed quickly, while Marcus gazed up at the thunderstorm. The clouds were black as night, while flashes of purple lightning blazed across the sky with anger.

"We're all going to die," he muttered, realising the truth. He gripped his spear even tighter.

"Stop being such a pessimist," Stacy said hotly, as they reached a small building outside the control tower, "We're going to get out of this."

"In the middle of the ocean, while the boats are taking on… hey, why aren't we on the boats?"

"Because the ships in the harbour," Charlotte told him miserably, "Aren't ships at all. They are all missile sites, ready to bring down whatever dare attack us. There's only one way off this island and that's by air." She pointed at the storm. "Would you like to get off the island?"

Marcus shook his head very quickly.

Charlotte opened the door to the small building. "Climb down the ladder and keep climbing," she told the teenagers, "Someone will come and get you after it's all done."

She closed and locked the door behind them. The room consisted of some lockers and a long ladder sunk into the ground.

"Let's go," Stacy muttered, lowering herself.

And then, with a sudden realisation, Marcus cursed; "Shit."

"What?" Stacy asked, panicking.

"General Mason is the luckiest bastard alive."

Stacy rolled her eyes and descended.

* * *

><p>"This is Warwolf 7, visibility is at a near zero percent," the pilot said, his F-35 screaming through the storm.<p>

"_This is base command, copy Warwolf 7, visibility extremely poor_," came the reply from Diego Garcia.

"_Warwolf 7, Warwolf 2, altimeters and your other instruments should keep you in the air. Don't worry; as soon as we wrap up this Decepticon, the weather should hopefully clear up._"

"_Warwolf 7, Kingfisher 9; yeah, we'll give this Decepticon a Thundercracker he won't forget._"

Warwolf 7 smiled and heard the relieving chortles of laughter through the communicator.

But that's when he died.

A V-22 Osprey smashed into him, straight out of the storm, neither one of them having seen the other. But cybertronian skin will always beat aluminium plating.

Having just unexpectedly destroyed one of the human jets, Ruination braked to a halt. Unable to see anything, he turned around and flew back the way he came.

"Space Case!" he cried, "The humans are here!"

"**Of course they are,**" the storm replied, "**Observe…**"

Ruination tried to see, but he was blind in the storm… and yet, he did hear something…

"_Base command to Warwolf 1, we've lost Warwolf 7,_"

"_W-What, how?_"

And then lighting shattered the sky.

The screams of dying humans filled Ruination's audio receptors and he swayed with the sound of the dead. Out of the corner of his sight, he saw a flaming wreckage fall towards the sea.

"**Now only the island remains. I do not yet have the power to sink it from here, and I wish for Optimus to debate with me, so we will have to assault it directly.**"

Ruination, feeling sick inside, could only be carried by the storm, while the dead were read off to him.

"_Warwolf 1, come in! Warwolf 2, come in… Kingfisher 1, come in… anybody! Please, this is base command, someone come in!_"

"**They will not last the night.**"

* * *

><p>"Lieutenant Arnold!" a staff-sergeant cried, "Two bogeys out to the north, closing fast!"<p>

"Are all our squadrons destroyed?" Arnold whispered.

The staff-sergeant nodded. Arnold breathed deep.

Lieutenant Frederick Arnold had never been in a battle before; everyone, from Colonel Lennox to Private Lamont, had been in at least one engagement with the Decepticons or, at the very least, other humans. Arnold had been with logistics his entire career, steadily making his way up the ranks, without ever hearing a bullet being fired in anger. He had only been sent to Diego Garcia to swell up the dwindling ranks of soldiers that never returned home, and that he had volunteered just to see the Autobots.

And now that he had seen them, he wanted nothing more than to return home to Ohio.

But here he was, in command of one of the most important islands in the world, the defence of every friend and comrade on Diego Garcia in his hands. Plus, the Secretary of Defence was just a few meters away.

"Are the SAM sites ready?" Charlotte Mearing asked.

"Yes, miss," Arnold replied.

_In the end_, he thought, _It's like the games I used to play with my brothers. War and fighting… they were all just grown-up games back then. No news station ever reported on fear or panic… it all just seemed like something that happened far away and never affected anyone I cared__ for._

_Now they all look up to me… like some sort of father. To shield them against the coming storm, to help them fight the sky itself… it all falls to me._

"Sir," the staff-sergeant reported, "The SAMs are locked on."

_But maybe… I should treat it as a game… that way, all the fear and responsibility shall vanish, and the calmness of command will take over._

_Yes… a game…_

He breathed deep.

"Fire," he ordered.

Across Diego Garcia, hundreds of missiles roared into the sky.

* * *

><p>"Alas, poor Mixmaster," Mindwipe mused, "I knew him well, Overcast."<p>

The Seeker didn't even bother to look at the insane Decepticon, rather, he inspected the puddle that remained of Rampage.

"What happened here?" he asked no-one in particular.

"This is what happens when the gods piss themselves," Mindwipe cackled, "They urinate acid and shit lighting!"

Mindwipe wasn't the best company to keep, especially as he had been one of the greatest psychologists and sociologists in cybertronian history. But experiments with the mind and chemicals involving it eventually turned him insane, making him easy recruiting mould for the Decepticon army.

"But what of Space Case, Ruination and Jetstorm?" Overcast mused.

Mindwipe picked up a head out of the sand. "Well, we've found Jetstorm."

Overcast grimaced. "And the others?"

Mindwipe grinned and pointed at the Indian Ocean. "They lie below the waves, where their armour will belong to undersea caves…"

Overcast peered into the distance. "There's a storm brewing."

"There always was," Mindwipe replied, "But now it has cracked open for the world to see and chronicle… oh yes, chronicle."

"Keep your distance," Overcast growled, "We must report this to Lord Megatron."

At that point Mindwipe couldn't keep it contained any longer. He burst out laughing, the sound ringing round the beach.

"Quiet!" Overcast hissed, "What's so funny?"

"M-Megatron!" Mindwipe spat out, "H-He told… he told…" He started laughing again.

Overcast slapped him to the floor. Mindwipe looked up, a grin still on his face.

"What's so funny?" Overcast reiterated, gritting his teeth.

"Megatron told Space Case to swallow that Dark Energon, saying it was useless," Mindwipe laughed, "And now look!"

At that point, Overcast laughed as well. The two of them rolled around on the beach, clutching their sides, as the storm brewed in the south.

* * *

><p>"MISSILES!" Ruination roared.<p>

"**Fear not**," replied two red orbs beside him, "**They will not touch us; observe…**"

Hundreds of rockets shot out from the island, heading straight for Ruination. He balked as they sped towards him.

And then there was light.

Purple lighting screeched from the clouds, thousands of bolts slamming into the missiles, blowing them all to pieces, shrapnel falling from the clouds. Explosions rocked the sky, brighter than any sun, flames stretching upwards and outwards. Ruination was flung back into the storm, roaring in shock and pain.

Eventually, the flames fell from the sky. The storm blew stronger than ever, while Ruination and Space Case were left unharmed.

"**Our turn**," the shadows spoke.

Lighting destroyed the island.

* * *

><p>The second last thing that went through Frederick Arnold's head was the revelation that he would never have witnessed something so amazing as he just did, right before he died.<p>

The epic explosions of the missiles had brought back a memory, long lost… of a Fourth of July, so long ago, only at six years of age. The sky exploded then too, with beautiful colours of red and pink and green and blue and yellow… and gold. Golden rain fell from the sky, the lights and sounds beautiful and bright. Just before he died, Arnold smiled with giddy joy.

The control tower exploded, lighting tearing it apart, the flames arcing into the sky. Everyone, including Lieutenant Frederick Arnold and Secretary of Defence Charlotte Mearing, were eviscerated instantly.

But the last thing that echoed through his mind, just as the flames reached him, was an odd question; why was the lightning purple?

But, he reflected, it didn't really matter, did it? The explosion was still yellow, as it would have been for any colour, so the colour didn't matter. Any colour you like, the result is still the same; it all burns.

But was that the real reason it didn't matter?

After all, it was only a game.

Right?

* * *

><p>Marcus and Stacy screamed as the island rocked with the lightning bombardment.<p>

The hangars were destroyed, human flesh cooked, buildings razed to the ground. Ratchet was buried under rubble, the Pillars with him. Fearswoop screamed into his gag as his barrier was destroyed, showering him in debris.

The runway was savaged, planes were torn apart and explosions lit the night. The lagoon boiled to steam and trees burned, flames leaping into the sky, the statue desecrated. Lighting demolished it all.

The sea began to pour in.

In five simple seconds, Diego Garcia was destroyed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Where are we?<strong>_

_**Who are we?**_

_**Are we Malevolus?**_

_**Are we the Allspark?**_

_**Are we eternal?**_

_**There is one who we could ask…**_

_**The boy.**_

_**The boy would not know.**_

_**The boy's lack of knowledge makes him dream… from dreams we were born and from dreams we were cast down.**_

…_**It can all be traced back to dreams.**_

_**Thus making the boy more knowledgeable.**_

"_His name is Marcus."_

_**Marcus.**_

_**What is to become of us… become of him?**_

_**Then we must unlock the door.**_

_**To do that, we would need a key.**_

_**But before that, we should lead him out of this event…**_

"_NO!"_

_**We would argue and not debate?**_

_**Marcus has affected us as much as we have affected him.**_

_**That is dead which can eternal lie…**_

_**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**_

_**Why bother with hate?**_

_**Then let us speak our piece, it that personalises itself as 'Malevolus'.**_

"_I need not interfere. Don't interfere. Marcus is the strongest creature I have met in aeons. Do not deny him his freedom…"_

_**Just this once?**_

"_Yes… just this once…"_

_**Then it is decided. We will not interfere. Pray we are right, for our sake.**_

* * *

><p>One eye…<p>

One sight…

A sight of shadow and storm.

Ratchet tried to move, but the weight of his own workshop held him down. He found that his mouthpiece had been smashed when the roof fell and he could barely speak.

_W-Where's Optimus… where are they? Someone… help me…_

He heard a scrabbling behind him. Someone was clawing their way through the rubble, sharp of claw and full of intent. He felt rocks shifting beside him…

And then he saw a most unlikely rescuer towering above him.

"You…" Fearswoop muttered, "Heh heh… you'll wish you would have stayed buried, Ratchet…"

Fearswoop raised a blaster.

Ratchet shut off his remaining optic.

Fearswoop's finger curled round the trigger…

"**Stop.**"

The voice spoke volumes, as if it had been drawn out through space and time. Each nanosecond of every syllable shook Ratchet, his audio receptors almost drowning in the power that pervaded just that one word.

Both Fearswoop and Ratchet turned to see who had spoken.

There were two figures. The one shrinking in the shadow of the larger was Ruination, Ratchet remembered, who looked utterly terrified and utterly out of place. Compared to his companion, he may has well been a bonfire next to a sun.

But no sun would ever touch upon the companion. His form was the blackest dark you couldn't even imagine, shadows rising off him like steam, the only source of light from his body being two red optics in an area that might have been his face. Apart from that, he wielded a silver staff in one hand, the top glowing purple.

"**Stop this folly,**" he thundered, "**You dare spill each other's blood, surrounded by the corpses of your enemies. Ratchet, you were foolish to join the humans, and Fearswoop, you were foolish to ever raise arms against him.**"

Ratchet searched every memory bank, but could find no recollection of who this figure was or who he might have been. But Fearswoop had an idea.

"S-S-Space C-Case?" he quivered.

"**I am now Space Case, the Praetoricon,**" came the reply from within the shadows, and Ratchet finally saw the mouth. He wished he hadn't.

Unlike other Transformer's voice boxes, Space Case had an actual mouth. Whenever he opened it, huge, sharp teeth protruded from top and bottom, each one capable of slicing through rock. But the worst thing of all was the saliva that dripped menacingly whenever he opened his mouth, something no Transformer should have.

"**There has been too much foolish bloodshed within our race**," Space Case continued, amid a blazing airstrip, "**Autobots and Decepticons… how foolish. Do you believe this a game? Do you believe this a war? No, this is no war… it is insolence for the power that peace can bring. We are a violent, primitive race, who want nothing more than to commit war on a neighbour… you fools.**"

Fearswoop fell to his knees and kissed the airfield. "Oh, please Space Case, spare me! I don't deserve death, I don't want to die!"

The Praetoricon nodded slowly. "**No-one deserves, yet plenty claim they do. If you wish to join me, then you may do so; but either way, you will join me. Rise, Fearswoop, and come ****join us.**"

Fearswoop needed no more support. He scampered to Space Case's side, where Ruination gave him a withering look. And then the three of them all looked at where Ratchet lay.

"I suppose…" Ratchet coughed, "You… want me to… join up as well."

"**It's not about want**," Space Case told him, "**You **_**will **_**join us. It just depends on the time. But before you make your decision, you will do something for me; bring back Optimus Prime.**"

Ratchet spat rubble into the ground. "And what if I refuse?"

"**You can't.**"

Ratchet realised with sudden defeat that Space Case was right. He really had only one option; bring back Optimus Prime. Who else could beat this Space Case reborn? Even though he might be unable to beat this… creature.

With a sigh of submission, Ratchet moved to pull the Pillars out of the debris.

* * *

><p><em>Circle sharks all about you…<em>

_You come up and you don't know why…_

_Where goes a woman with a warm embrace?  
>Does a man walk in the hard rain?<br>I'm amazed at the mess you found:  
>You're coming up—<br>and I'm standing next in line,  
>Give into none—<br>and that one comes,  
>Hear me hollerin' I get the most…<em>

* * *

><p>When Irving awoke, it was to an unfamiliar ceiling.<p>

A ceiling of grey concrete loomed over him, while bulbs flickered within the fluorescent lighting tubes. He heard the gentle whooshing of a fan and felt cold air blow over his face. He lay under several sheets and with a dull surprise, realised he was naked.

And he heard the growling of a beast.

This was not the hospital he had arrived at. It had been an hour into his escape from Harbinger's henchman when he noticed the blood dripping from his hand. One shot had slashed its way through his left arm and by the time he had arrived at Klamath Falls Hospital he had lost a lot of blood. He hadn't even had time to call HARP… and soon his vision had drifted away.

And now he had awoken to a different building altogether. And those growls sent shivers down his spine…

He tried to sit up, but found he couldn't; he was still too weak for that. But the growls grew more threatening and Irving found himself scared stiff, trying all he might to sit up in bed.

He eventually put all his strength into his arms and found himself looking at a monster at the end of the bed.

It had one eye. One optic… one baleful, red optic. Its mouth had a huge array of canines and incisors, each one glistening every time the lights flickered. Its cat-like body and mace-like tail betrayed its savage nature. It was the size of a Great Dane, with the power of a horse.

"Ravage," Irving whispered, remembering that horrible face from a dozen briefings, "Shit."

"I'd advise you not to connect him with any sort of excrement, insect," came a nasal, snarling voice, "Lest you become his."

Irving turned his head to see a hulking, demonic vulture perched on a windowsill next to his bed. Its cruel face and crueller talons had tasted the flesh of many humans in its life… and it would no doubt claim many more.

"And you're Laserbeak," Irving reminded himself, "Where's the rest of Soundwave's petting zoo?"

"Relaxing as the Autobots are destroyed," Laserbeak spat, "Watching with delight as they are ravaged by a storm. Eating the corpses of your friends…"

"It seems that you're going to be the one who asks questions then," Irving sighed, "Fine; I'll do my best not to answer them."

Laserbeak grinned and Irving found himself scared again.

"You have a… sister, no?" Laserbeak chuckled, "Apparently, she's a paraplegic… it wouldn't help anyone if she ended up blind as well, right?"

Irving felt anger rise within him but could do nothing to stop it.

"So why not come to an agreement that benefits us all?" Laserbeak asked, leaping from the windowsill and gliding until he perched at the end of Irving's bed, "You are not so, uh, patriotic as to have your sister suffer a life of… more… misery? Or not to suffer life at all?"

Irving sank back into the sheets, realising that they held all the cards.

"What do you want to know?" he asked quietly.

Laserbeak stared at him hard. "What do you know of Harbinger?"

"Harbinger?" _Why does everyone seem to know about __this __Harbinger except me? _"I know nothing of him."

Laserbeak pierced him with evil eyes while Ravage's tail swept across the floor, banging against the floor.

"You lie," the vulture hissed, its tail flicking about, "You've heard of him! How else would you believe it was a 'he'?"

"I don't know!" Irving exclaimed, "Someone just tried to kill me for going to talk with someone! They killed Colonel Thorpe! I know nothing of this Harbinger!"

"Then who does?" Laserbeak snarled, leaping to Irving's lap, his ugly and cruel face leering in close.

_Lieutenant Timothy Dalton_. _That's who. Don't threaten me when he's the one who seems to be everywhere._

"I… I don't know."

Laserbeak spat oil in his face. The Decepticon perched on his head, the claws digging into Irving's head. The human moaned.

"We are the Decepticons," Laserbeak whispered in his ear, "We will kill you all. Do not doubt that and do not doubt us; we are legion and we are unstoppable. Killing you will be as simple as breathing and there are always other insects to interrogate. That's one thing useful about you humans; you multiply like bugs and are so easily… squashed…"

Laserbeak dug in harder.

Irving screamed.

* * *

><p>Optimus ran through the light into a scene of utter destruction.<p>

Flames towered high into the clouds, while smoke blocked out whatever visible night there was left. Not a star shone nor a moon did weep to look upon what had once been thriving.

_No… this cannot…_

"_Hehehehe…_"

Optimus whirled and saw Fearswoop crouching atop a pile of rubble, grinning down at him. The Decepticon was free and toting a vicious array of missiles and blasters. All were pointed at Optimus.

_This is… impossible…_

"Optimus!" cried a voice from beyond. The leader of the Autobots turned and saw Ratchet crawling towards him.

"Ratchet," Optimus murmured, dropping to his knees. The Autobot medic was wounded, but not fatally. He looked up at Optimus with guilt-ridden eyes.

"Forgive me…" he whispered.

Optimus understood at once and felt an overwhelming anger come over him, the likes of which he had never felt before. Drawing a sword out of his hand, he turned, to see another Decepticon had joined Fearswoop.

Ruination looked nothing like Fearswoop; he bore no grin, gave no chuckle and did not look away when Optimus glared at him. He seemed… sad, if he could feel such emotion.

"**The woe…**"

Optimus's spark froze in his chest. A hand wreathed in shadow touched his shoulder, like an old friend giving greeting.

"**All the death, all the destruction… I do not like it. I understand it and understand why it must be done, but that doesn't make it any less harmful to the soul. Believe me or not, Optimus Prime, but I do not like what I must do.**"

Optimus turned and saw the most terrifying creature that had ever existed. Cloaked in pitch black, radiating evil malevolence, a twisted, organic mouth partially hidden in shadow and two demonic eyes resting within… the Praetoricon stood another ten feet tall over the Prime.

"**But surely you can see, Optimus? It's the humans… it has always been about the humans. Ever since the Solar Harvester was built here in ancient times, the humans have guilt-tripped our race into defending them. And you believe that you can stop them from repeating our mistakes… but you are a fool, Optimus Prime; they have already performed them. Our race may be aeons older, but theirs are far more advanced. They have already plunged their world into war innumerable times; in reality, **_**our **_**race is the one who needs to learn from them. From every conflict in which they've consumed each other, they have learned from their mistakes. They may repeat them, but every battle is a learning curve and every loss is an experience.**** They are so far-developed from us, they have almost become gods in their dismissal of life.**** And what must mortals do to gods?**

"**Kill them. To surpass the humans and stop this bloody, hopeless war, we must wipe them out. All of them. Every last human upon this planet must be destroyed, lest we destroy ourselves while they look on. This is not genocide; this is evolution. They have had thousands of years to develop themselves beyond their foolish beginnings, yet have squandered every chance. Even with such minds as Harbinger steering them, they have become obsolete. And besides, they are just one race amongst trillions, across the universe… so tiny, so pointless. This is the meaning of life; to destroy those who stand in the way of ****it****… lest they destroy you themselves.**

"**Once the humans are destroyed, you will no longer have a reason to fight the Decepticons. The Allspark, the Solar Harvester, the Fallen, the humans… neither Autobot nor Decepticon will have a reason to fight. We will become one race again, under the unfurled banners of the destroyer, to crusade across the galaxy, spreading our wisdom to the stars beyond…**

"**Join me Optimus, and you shall stand at the side of your brothers; for we are all born the same, we are all brothers. Join me Optimus, and we will save so much more than we will ever destroy:**

"**No sacrifice, no victory.**"

Optimus stared at Space Case, his optics cloudy and far away.

"You would murder the humans?"

"**I would sack the Pit if need be. The humans must die if our war is to ever end.**"

Optimus gripped the blade in his hands. Ratchet lowered his face to the runway in grief. Space Case stared with neither expectation nor disappointment.

"I WILL NOT CONDEMN THEM!" Optimus roared and charged Space Case, swinging his huge sword down in a thunderous stroke.

Space Case sighed and caught the sword in his hand. With his left arm, he punched Optimus, sending the Prime flying backwards into the rubble. The sword slammed into the runway beside him.

"**I will not kill you, Optimus,**" the Praetoricon intoned, "**I will never destroy one of our race; you will either join with me or I will damage you beyond ****mobile**** capability.**"

Optimus roared and charged again, raising a battle-axe this time, while firing a blaster from his other hand. Space Case twirled his staff around, smashing apart the rounds from the blaster before meeting the axe with the staff. The axe splintered into a thousand pieces and Optimus was flung to the ground. With a _snap _that split the air, the staff smashed Optimus in the face, almost knocking him into stasis lock.

Space Case loomed over him.

"**You are as foolish as I once was,**" the Praetoricon intoned, "**But why? Is it your stubbornness? Your insolence? I've given you indisputable logic… so why persist in this folly?**"

But Optimus could not answer; his mouth had been smashed to pieces by the staff blow. With resigned optics, Optimus watched as the staff transformed into a pole-axe, which Space Case held against the Prime's throat.

"**Either way, we are leaving. If you wish to join us, or believe you can stop us, you may follow. Just remember; no matter your views, no matter if you win or not, your ****attempts to stop me will be met with nought but sorrow.**"

And then Space Case turned and walked away. Optimus watched him go, unable to do anything but lie and wait.

Together, with Ruination and Fearswoop, the three of them shot into the sky, into the storm.

And the Autobots were left alone.

* * *

><p>When Ratchet had finally fixed Optimus's mouthpiece, the Prime wasted no time.<p>

"Bring Lennox and the rest back," he ordered. Ratchet complied without a word, heading over to the Pillars.

Optimus sat in the devastated runway. He looked around.

_They… they are all dead. Every soldier here, who did not want war, who had a loved one… all gone. The Secretary of Defence… the kids…_

_The kids. By Primus, they didn't deserve this. They didn't deserve any of this… none of them did._

He stared over to where the control tower had once stood. The flames still burnt brightly. His optics glazed over, as if time had stood still, as if he was in a trance…

_I can still see them… their silhouettes. Their ghosts cry out in pain, all because of me. Their bodies are ash, because of me… the sky split open and thunder consumed them… all because of me. If only I had forced them to leave…_

_I can still see them running. Running towards me… tears in their eyes…_

_W-Wait…_

_They _are _running towards me…_

With a sudden shock, Marcus and Stacy were before him.

"OPTIMUS!" Stacy wailed and quickly attached herself to Optimus's foot. The Prime found himself shaking with relief, eternally and absurdly grateful that at least these two innocent lives were spared.

"Optimus," Marcus muttered, far away, "They're all dead… every one of them…"

Optimus nodded. Despite the recent fixing of his mouthpiece, he could find nothing to say.

He felt sunlight on his face. He looked up.

With Space Case's parting, the storm began to dissipate. Rays of light began appearing. The flames seemed to die down.

"Look, Optimus," Stacy said, "The sun's coming up again."

And so it was. The night was ending at last. The three of them looked up, the tiniest beginnings of hope appearing.

"But no storm is destroyed," Optimus told them, sadly, "It simply moves on… and move on it has."

He got up. The kids stared up at him.

"I must do this now… and I must do this alone," he said, more to himself than anyone else, "The humans are my burden… for it was I who chose to condemn them, forcing me to save them… and now I must do it again. This'll the toughest fight of my life."

"But Optimus!" Marcus exclaimed, "You're injured! You can't fight, not alone, not against him!"

"Armour may be dented. Weapons may be shattered. Resolve may be crushed. But this is my duty, my burden. I must try and save you all, or die trying."

He turned towards the Pillars as the sun shone off his back. For a minute, he seemed to turn golden.

Stacy hugged Marcus, as rain began to fall.

* * *

><p><em>Circle sharks down and round,<br>Deep water all around, round, round,  
>Deep water, round and round,<br>Round and round and round and round and round  
>Round and round and round and round and round<br>Round and round and round and round and round  
>Round and round and round and round and round<br>Round and round and round and round and round  
>…<em>


	21. Rust in Peace Part 3

There it is. Done. Finished. *Bows*

But only if you want that! This is the Season Finale for Season 1; if you want a Season 2 make your voice heard in the reviews! I've left it open for coming episodes! ;)

Also, if you would like the side-story of Space Case, Ruination and Dead End's journey from Chicago to Mongolia (while dragging Barricade) to be a fan-fiction, let me know and I'll make it!

Until then, thank you all for reviewing (especially **Megan666 **and **Mytical-Mist-Devil)** and I'll hopefully see you soon!

Here's to 21 Episodes and 200,000 words!

* * *

><p>"…<em>And so, the Wreckers escaped captivity in New York. They are now being treated as rogue aliens, akin to the Decepticons; if they are seen, they must be reported to authorities immediately; they are both armed and dangerous.<em>

"_In other news, a large __typhoon__ has been sighted approaching Europe from the Indian Ocean at a staggering speed. Currently over Iraq, the storm is predicted to travel over the Mediterranean Sea before crossing over France. The clouds are surprisingly dark in nature and lightning of unusual colour and frequency has been recorded across the Middle East… we will give more updates on this unnatural weather report the longer it continues."_

"_Apparently, a storm of this magnitude hasn't been recorded in centuries; wrap up warm and stay indoors, Europe!_"

"_Speaking of whi__ch, it's goodnight from us and good m__o__u__rning for them!_"

* * *

><p><span>Episode 21: Rust in Peace (Part 3)<span>

_Wind blows from the bowels of hell  
>Will we give warning? Only time will tell<br>Satan rears his ugly head…  
>To spit into the wind!<em>

_Back to the start, talk of the part__  
>When the earth was cold as ice<em>_  
>Total dismay as the sun passed away<em>_  
><em>_**And the days w**__**ere black as night**__**!**_

—**Rust in Peace…**

* * *

><p>Marcus now sat where the lagoon once was, staring at a small puddle of steaming water. Beside him, the pedestal of Kaminari Ishihara was all that stood there. Even the name of the island had been eradicated from it; all that remained was:<p>

PARADISE LOST

Marcus sniffed and stared up at the clear blue sky. The sun had never felt so warm before. The storm had passed and now the midday's rays glared at them all.

Stacy walked from the airfield and sat down beside him, staring dismally into the puddle as well.

"Optimus and Ratchet have decided that the only way they can stop that storm is by destroying Space Case… which means flying right into the storm." She shuddered. "They're still waiting for the storm to stop, so they can teleport right to it… but it might not stop at all. That's what they're worried about…"

Marcus just stared at the puddle, which slowly dwindled in the midday heat.

"You know, there are only three of them," Stacy said, trying to raise his spirits, "Out of all the Decepticons that have come before and all the Decepticons Optimus has destroyed, three of their weakest aren't going to be a problem…"

"Tell that to the soldiers on this island," Marcus muttered.

Stacy frowned at him and got up to leave, but Marcus reached a hand out to stop her.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm just…" He trailed off, looking back to the remains of the lagoon.

Stacy sat down again and put her head on his shoulder, staring as well.

"You know," Marcus whispered, "Just think of how far we've come; from the rats of the gutter to among the last surviving members of HARP… well, unofficial members at any rate."

"But I guess it's all coming to an end now," Stacy replied, "The Autobots are scattered, the Decepticons are heading off to conquer the world… we're at the end of the line."

"Not if Optimus beats Space Case."

"Even if he does… Megatron and the rest of his lieutenants will still be at large… what if the battle costs him his life?"

Marcus moved his head to stare into her eyes. She stared back.

"Then there's nothing we can do," Marcus told her, "We either die at evening's end from whatever they have planned… or we live to see the sunset. Either way… it's worth enjoying these moments, even if they're our last."

Stacy smiled. Marcus kissed her and their tongues came together, lapping over one another as the heat began to rise. Sweat rolled off Stacy's nose onto their lips and they both felt a rush of passion. Stacy's hands went up the back of his shirt while Marcus moved his down her back towards her bum.

They kissed faster and harder and Marcus, without thinking, let a hand go to her breast. She made no move to stop him, indeed, her kisses felt more rushed, more heated. Marcus felt his heart pounding in his chest as he opened his eyes…

And there it was.

A coyote, behind Stacy, looking at Marcus with ancient, sorrowful eyes.

"For there's was not to wonder why," it spoke in volumes, "But to wage war until all shall die."

Marcus broke off. Stacy looked at him at him with expressionless eyes.

"I understand," she said, although Marcus doubted she did.

She slunk away, crossing the sand in short, sultry steps. She turned around and gave him a teasing smile before disappearing into the jungle.

Marcus blinked.

The coyote was gone.

* * *

><p>It was dusky and hazy within the bar. The patrons were either grizzled old men, possible criminals of Latin American descent, smart-mouthed bikers and an experienced barkeep who knew everyone by smell alone.<p>

Except for the one who pushed open the door with a large creak. Everyone turned to look; ugly pairs of eyes gazed around the decrepit bar before settling their sights on the new visitor to Fort Derrick.

It wasn't the fact that he wore sunglasses in the shade, or wore a clichéd duster coat in the West, or how he strutted in, or the incredibly long gun he held across his shoulders; it was the fact that he was a teenager who looked like he hadn't worked a day in his life that made everyone hate him instantly.

The barkeep spat on the ground. "We don't serve minors here," he growled.

The teenager cocked his head to the side. "In that case, I'll take the drink myself."

Someone chortled under his breath. The rest gave cold, unwelcome stares.

"Who the hell are you?" asked an oil-rig worker.

"Ryder."

"Of course you are," the barkeep muttered, "Acting all cool and cocky like, with that stupid toy across your shoulders, pretending to be some sort of Crocodile Dundee. Get the fuck out of my bar before some of my friends _help _you out."

The patrons murmured agreement. Ryder studied them all in turn.

"Fine then," he replied, "Just tell me… who owns the Harley Davidson outside?"

They all fixed him with blank stares.

"No-one here owns a Harley," the barkeep grunted, "If they did, they wouldn't be hanging around the likes of these gents; that chopper would likely go… _missing_."

"In that case," Ryder acknowledged, "I think I'll go and take it."

Almost immediately, ten of the patrons stood up with angry glares.

"You'll do what, gringo?" one of the Latino's spat, "I think you better get out of here, kid."

Ryder drew ELLIPSIS off his back, hefting it like a club.

"Another day," he muttered, "Another round."

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?" Fearswoop cried out into the storm.<p>

"**A tower.**"

"But why?"

"**It is instrumental to our plan.**"

"We don't understand!" Ruination roared, "How are we going to wipe out the humans?"

"**Upon reaching this tower I will begin channelling the destroyer's power through my catalyst. It will cause a storm of unmatched and unstoppable magnitude to cover the Earth; all life will be eradicated from lightning strikes and never ending rainfall. The old world will be washed away and the new one will be a thing of beauty; pillars of Dark Energon will pierce the atmosphere while we consume their power. All cybertronians will become vassals and all cybertronians will be equal; there will be peace. Then our power will reach out beyond this world and consume the star that it orbits, sucking its energy dry before continuing ever outwards… inevitably, the galaxy will be ours, from which our race could indeed take the entire universe.**"

The sheer ambition of this vision stunned the other two cybertronians into silence. Fearswoop gaped in his jet mode while Ruination pondered the power that Space Case now wielded.

_We shall rule the Earth._

_We shall rule the galaxy._

_We shall rule the universe._

_But… something's not right…_

"Space Case… what then?" he asked.

"**I do not understand your query,**" the Praetoricon replied.

"After we conquer the universe… what will happen then?"

"**We will live out the remainder of our lives in peace and equality. Our laws and teachings will not become law or fact; they would become life itself. To create life out of destruction; is that not what every creature strives for?**"

Ruination wondered on that a moment. And then:

"No, Space Case. Creatures just want to survive… and be a little happier than they once were."

"**Give a creature a little happiness and he will desire more. Give a creature the universe and he will desire nothing, as nothing more can be desired.**"

"Desire nothing…?"

"**There would be nothing left for him to accomplish… except to live.**"

"No… he would want to accomplish death."

"**Explain.**"

"The final frontier is not space, nor is it absolute power… it is death. No creature has ever beaten death, so no-one ever tries. But when someone has everything… that is when he strives for the impossible."

They flew through the storm, over the nation of Italy.

"**Ruination, I did not remember you as such an exceptional philosopher. Your logic is sound. Once this scenario is over, I would be glad to debate it further.**"

"You believe you can't fail."

"**I can't.**"

"You guys are insane," Fearswoop muttered, "The fact of the matter is this; stick with the most powerful, you survive. Become the most powerful, you die."

"**Then you best stick around and see how badly your logic is flawed.**"

* * *

><p>The rain fell in droves. The wind whipped across the road as headlights blurred in the street. The cars seemed to swim through the river, roaring over the sound of the storm.<p>

But this was no storm conjured by dark science; this was just the weather in Vermont, where a certain technician had found himself.

The howling gales slapped his face, waking him from an injury induced nightmare. A terrifying, cat-like beast had growled at him, a mace-like tail whipping the ground…

"Are you alright?"

Randall Irving slowly looked up, dried blood all across his face. His clothes were in tatters, his hair torn, cuts across every body part.

"Well…" he muttered, weakly, "Are you Timothy Dalton?"

"Jesus, man; you need to go to a hospital!"

"The last time… I went to… one of those… I got these…"

"Shanna! Ring 911; this guy's close to dying!"

"Timothy fucking Dalton… and Harbinger… and the Decepticons… they can all go to hell and suck Satan's dick…"

The man above him froze.

"Dude… did you just say the Decepticons?"

Irving looked up properly, the rain running from his eyes. He got a good look at his new friend.

The lad must not have been more than twenty-one, his spotty face alive with interest. He was soaked to the bone by the torrential rainfall, having dressed light for a trip into the chilly north, while his dark, messy hair still stood up straight despite the forces arrayed against it.

"I'll tell you all about it…" Irving muttered, "Just tell me you're not Timothy Dalton…"

"Hey, calm down; we're gonna get you out of here…"

Irving felt himself being lifted up and guided through the wind and rain. His feet slipped on the wet pavement, but he kept himself upright.

Somehow, he found himself staring up at the ceiling of a car and a friendly voice was talking to him.

"Don't worry man; you're going to be alright… but I'm no Timothy Dalton. The name's Leo. Leo Spitz."

* * *

><p>When the fifth man spat out two teeth and slumped to the floor, unconscious, the rest of the patrons gave up.<p>

"Whiskey on the rocks," Ryder ordered, as several other men went to pick up their friends.

The barkeep reached behind the counter but, contrary to the beverage ordered, he drew out a double-barrelled shotgun.

"Get the fuck out," the barkeep ordered, "And take your damned chopper with you."

Ryder tipped an imaginary hat and left the occupants of the room to their humiliation.

Walking into the savage sun, Ryder looked up. The sun beat down upon his face, but his eyes were unaffected.

"Would you look at that," he muttered, "And be blinded."

He hit the ground with ELLIPSIS, holding it like a staff.

"But can light really blind you guys?" he asked, seemingly to yourself, "Or can you stare into the fires of a nuclear apocalypse… and still see the light?"

He received no answer.

"I don't usually get gut feelings," Ryder continued, "Because clear thinking is all the control I need. But… I do feel there's a sense of destiny about you."

Again, all was silent.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Ryder muttered, "But you're more than 2000cc, right?"

"Do you love the sound of your own voice this much?" the Harley Davidson growled.

Ryder gave a slight smile. He moved towards the motorcycle.

"You new here?" he asked.

Yet again, no answer.

"Fine then, but can we at least go for a ride? It's been a long while since I've ridden something of your calibre."

"So which girl shot you?"

This time, Ryder let off an actual smile. That was rarer than toast turning back into bread.

"Ever driven on Earth roads before?"

"I've driven across mountains made of fire, across rivers of tar and across crevasses of ice. Sand and dirt are akin to tarmac and asphalt; it's as easy to fly over."

"Then let's put that to the test."

The chopper's engine roared into life. Ryder got on, the duster billowing behind him.

"You haven't told me your name," Ryder said.

"I know," came the reply.

Then they roared out of Fort Derrick.

* * *

><p>Paris is a <em>huge <em>city.

One of the largest and most populous in the whole of Europe, it is the site of many historic landmarks. From the Arc De Triomphe to the bells of Notre Dame, tourists and proud Frenchmen gather in the streets every day to go about a beautiful city in which the population is in its millions.

But not that evening.

The doors were shut, the buildings full. The tourist attractions were empty, the streets lifeless. The huge city was silent.

But the storm above wasn't.

Three titanic figures smashed into the Champ de Mars, toppling the trees and throwing up water with their impact. Two of them gazed around, drawing blasters and swords. The huge, dark one simply looked up at the tower.

"**This is it, my brothers… it is from this point our crusade begins, and our rise to take the universe… with these acts I will wipe the world clean and bring about a new one… before the end, the humans will fear day and they will fear night… but in the end, all will see the light.**"

And although Space Case stood above all others, the Eiffel Tower loomed over him.

* * *

><p>"The storm has halted," Ratchet muttered.<p>

"Where?" Optimus asked immediately.

"Paris. I'll set the coordinates."

Optimus nodded and moved towards the Pillars. He spotted Lennox and his men getting ready.

"Sabot rounds loaded?" the colonel asked.

"Check," Epps replied.

"Water and food all accounted for?"

"Check, but I doubt we'll be there for long, Bill…"

"I've already forgotten who said that about Tibet," Lennox replied, "What about piercing rounds?"

"Check—"

"Colonel," Optimus interrupted, "What are you doing?"

Lennox looked up quizzically. "What do you think, Optimus? We're coming with you."

Optimus was silent and Lennox immediately frowned.

"Now listen, Optimus," he said, pointing a finger up at the titanic alien, "Don't you dare give us a speech about why you have to do this alone and that you care for our safety. We're coming with you. Period."

Optimus smiled. He had recently doubted several things, but if there was something he could utterly count on, then it was Colonel William Lennox's loyalty. Thanks to the chain-of-command, Lennox was also in charge of HARP and could have made it law that he was coming with the Autobot… but Optimus knew it wouldn't come to that.

"William?"

"Optimus."

"Do you have faith in me?"

Lennox stopped loading the launcher he held. He looked up proper.

"You know, the first time I saw you Optimus, you were charging down a dusty old road in the middle of Nevada, with your entire Autobot army behind you," Lennox told him, "And as soon as I saw that truck, I knew instantly that you were aliens. And I knew instantly you were the Autobots."

"How?"

"Those guys followed you in perfect order, in perfect rhythm… but they didn't follow you because of your size and aura of power. I understood that immediately. They followed you because of the trust that they held for you. You had led them across the galaxy, planet after planet, always coming up short in your quest to find the Allspark. And yet they still followed you. If they had feared you, they would have deserted a long time ago. And also… I don't know, but when you're called a 'Prime', I think that just makes people listen to you. I'm a colonel because of duty. What does it take to make a Prime?"

"Primes are not made," Optimus replied regretfully, "They are chosen."

"Yet why were you chosen?" Lennox continued, "Your birthright? Your cunning? Your power? Your wisdom? Your honesty? No… from that day in Mission City, I understood; you were chosen, because you would always do the right thing."

All around the hangar, the men were absorbed with this speech. Optimus had never felt more proud. And haunted.

"So do I have faith in you?" Lennox asked rhetorically, "Of course. And I have faith you'll save every one of us and all our loved ones… so get out there. Save the world again; Optimus Prime."

Epps called them all to attention and, as one, every soldier stood up straight and saluted. They saluted to Optimus Prime. The only one who didn't was Lennox, who simply smiled.

Optimus nodded to them all and headed towards the Pillars.

_Primes are chosen because they do the right thing._

He hesitated just the once, yet that made all the difference.

The Pillars began to glow.

_And yet what was Sentinel?_

* * *

><p>They climbed like monkeys, the three of them grabbing hold of the wrought iron of the Eiffel Tower, each one speeding to the top. The storm raged around them, lightning striking the tower and fuelling them all with resolve.<p>

"This is insane!" Fearswoop cried as he clambered up, "We're all gonna die!"

"**We will all die, at some time or another,**" came Space Case's reply, "**What does it matter if it's here?**"

"Because I want to live long and be happy!" Fearswoop whined, "Why can't I have this power _after _you've done your plan?"

There was no answer that time. They continued on their epic ascent, the wind trying to throw them off.

Ruination looked up at where Space Case had almost reached the top. Despite his size, even Ruination trembled when he looked down, to see the ground as if it was so far away.

_Fearswoop's right; why am I up here? Surely Space Case can complete his plan without us?_

But no matter how tempting it was to leave, Ruination knew he wouldn't. Indeed, he would stay at Space Case's side until death.

_But why? I am a Decepticon; all I've ever wanted is the power and the glory, the respect and admiration… I don't need to be up here to claim that._

"I'm surprised the Autobots aren't here yet!" Fearswoop called.

"**They will be,**" the Praetoricon boomed, "**Optimus is already on his way.**"

Ruination looked up in shock. Fearswoop suddenly felt a lot less sure about himself.

"Optimus is coming?" Fearswoop yelped.

"**Yes. He will fight us. Although his chances of victory against me are near impossible, it would be assured if you two stuck by me.**"

Ruination nodded and continued his climb, but Fearswoop froze on the side of the tower.

Suddenly, without a word, he leapt off and transformed, flying through the storm and over the rooftops of Paris.

"COWARD!" Ruination thundered after him, but Fearswoop did not turn back.

"**Let him go; he is wise to flee,**" Space Case sighed, "**In fact, it would be better if you went as well; you could die tonight. Why bother fighting?**"

_Why bother fighting? Yes, why do I bother…? What is the point in being here, at the dawn of genocide? Victory is all but achieved…_

"Do you even understand why I'm here?" Ruination muttered.

"**Of course; to help us achieve omnipotence.**"

Space Case had reached the top. He grasped the pinnacle and stared about him, invisible against the black clouds. Ruination looked up with wonder and sadness.

"Omnipotence…?" he questioned, "Maybe I once believed that… but no more…"

Ruination climbed as well, till he was just below Space Case. He also stared out over the nest.

"Do you remember Dead End?" Ruination muttered, sorrow in his voice, "Do you remember our journey? We all said it was to help Barricade and help bring back the Decepticons… but I now realise why we ever set out in the first place. The Decepticons were destroyed and we were all that were left… we went out on that journey not for Barricade, not for any reward… but for the company we kept. We were lost and alone; so we joined together, a band of brothers, all of us as different as we could possibly be…

"And now Dead End is gone. Whereas we two are now on top of the world… and about to claim it. We have succeeded, where he has failed. And yet… I still miss him, as a comrade and as a friend. Are we even recognisable from what we once were? Are we the same as when we left Chicago? I think the answer's obvious… and yet so sad."

When Ruination looked up at Space Case, he found the Praetoricon looking back down. And then, for the first time since India, he saw doubt in those baleful optics. And that terrified Ruination more than anything else in existence.

"**You'd best get back down; surprise Optimus when he arrives. This will be the last night we should ever see.**"

Ruination looked at the ground far below.

_Our last night…_

_Our last…_

Filled with sadness, Ruination began the lonely descent.

* * *

><p>A lonely shack in a huge desert. An outhouse without a house. A privy which had stood the test of time, while the town around it crumbled to dust.<p>

Withdrawing a roll of toilet paper from his duster, Ryder finished his business and moved out into the desert.

Sand stretched out for miles and miles all around. Cacti were sparse and lonely, shrubs small and dying. They had gone off the beaten track many hours ago and were now just drinking in the vastness.

"So, Sixshot, I've been meaning to ask," Ryder said, looking up at the sun, "Are you Autobot or Decepticon?"

"Neither," came the chopper's reply.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I was tracking several drones across Alpha Centauri. I wasn't sure whose side they were on, so I followed at a distance. They crash-landed near here."

"How come we never knew?"

The motorcycle shrugged, which was amazing.

"Well…" Ryder mused, "It'll be the end of the world soon."

"Oh."

"Some guys across an ocean are going to whip up a storm."

"I thought guys like us did that."

"Not at the weekends." Ryder shook his head. "At least we can see this beauty before we go."

"What's so beautiful about this place? It's barren. It's empty."

"I know. That's why I like it."

Sixshot studied him for a few moments. Then, without provocation, he transformed.

Despite his vehicular size, Sixshot stood thirteen feet tall, just a little smaller than Bumblebee and Mirage. Holstered above his wheels at the waist were two shiny cybertronian revolvers, each one the size of a wardrobe.

Ryder nodded. "Looks like I'm not the last cowboy in the West."

"Keep the cow, and the boy. I'd rather be a gunslinger."

The two of them looked around. There really wasn't much to see.

"I came by this way once before," Ryder remembered, "Hunting a guy named Starscream. Heard of him?"

Sixshot shook his head. "I never paid much attention to the military."

"Then what's with the guns?"

Sixshot stroked the revolvers at his side.

"They're the last resort."

"I'd thought they'd be the first."

Sixshot looked up at the sun.

"There's been a little too much death recently…"

They sat in the heat of the day, the sun stroking their skin, the horizon shimmering and twisting.

"Are we going to search for those drones?" Sixshot asked.

Ryder shrugged. Sixshot transformed.

"Then hop on."

They trekked across the desert, the last outlaws of the West.

* * *

><p>"<em>I WANT ANSWERS!" Marcus roared, "TELL ME EVERYTHING, LEAVE NOTHING OUT!"<em>

_Malevolus hissed venomously. "Fuck you. Don't dare presume to order me about like a dog, you fucking insect. I can crush your brain to jelly and tear apart your insides—"_

"_FUCK YOU!" Marcus shouted in response, "YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME YOU LITTLE SHIT! TELL ME EVERYTHING OR I'LL BE THE ONE TO TEAR _YOU _APART!"_

_Malevolus could do nothing but hiss. Eventually, seeing as it had no longer any effect on the boy, he stopped altogether. They both sat in silence, Marcus fuming, Malevolus resigned._

"_You should have guessed by now that I am the Allspark shard that you touched in that sewer," Malevolus muttered, "Back then, I was nothing more than raw power. But when I felt a human mind intrude upon me, I… explored. Your mind twisted my power and formed it into something new; it opened my eyes, forged me a… personality. I am no longer the Allspark or Malevolus; I am the Allheart."_

"_What about the visions?" Marcus demanded._

"_I showed you those to guide your friends to victory, to warn you and all the rest. Without my information, how else would you have achieved any victories?"_

"_But how did you know?" Marcus asked, "How did you know of the Pillars and the Decepticons?"_

_The Allheart gave him a curious look. "I am the single most powerful thing in the galaxy; I understand the whispers of the cosmic winds, feel the life in every spark and heart throughout the system and can read the messages the stars left us in our blindness."_

"_Whatever," Marcus dismissed, "If you're so powerful, why are you talking with an average human boy?"_

_The creature looked at Marcus with ancient wisdom in the moons for eyes. "You are far from average Marcus," he told the child, "You have been chosen; I can give you riches, glory, power, all you ever wanted from the recesses of your mind…"_

"_Bullshit," Marcus realised triumphantly, "You're stuck in my mind. You can't do anything here except talk to me and give me visions. You're trapped, with no escape."_

_The Allheart cocked his head to one side. "Are you sure of that?"_

_Marcus frowned, but was quickly interrupted._

"_It does not matter, either way," the Allheart dismissed, "We will all die soon enough, unless Optimus can kill Space Case. Even a power such as mine will not be noticed and so I will simply be eradicated… along with you."_

_Marcus thought about saying something back, but decided not to. He sat back on a floor with no dimensions or meaning of space and glared at the Allheart._

"_Why so angry, Marcus?" the Allheart hissed, "After all, we all die sometime, right? You'll be able to meet all those you lost… Silverbolt, Blazemaster, Chromia, all the other Autobots… your mother…"_

"_Leave my mother out of this," Marcus snarled and the Allheart obliged._

_They sat in the dark, sat in the light. The Allheart looked up at a ceiling that did not seem to be there._

"_So it all rests on Optimus?" Marcus finally asked._

"_Of course," the Allheart replied with a grin, "Who else?"_

* * *

><p>Lightning split the night and rain smashed the street. Optimus came roaring out of heaven's light, a blaster in each hand, staring up into the eye of the storm.<p>

Space Case stood atop the Eiffel Tower as thunderbolts lit up the hurricane around him, yet no light reflected off of him. His silver staff was embedded in the very peak the tower, sticking out of the black iron light a star in the night. He looked down on Optimus Prime with bemused eyes.

"**Prime, I knew you would come. I wash my hands of your coming… demolition.**"

"Space Case!" Optimus roared up at the storm, "Stop this madness and I'll let you go free!"

"**You still love the humans, don't you?**" Space Case wondered, "**Then I see no way in which we must not conflict. Goodbye, Optimus Prime; I will have more important work to do than indulge on your mirthless self-destruction.**"

Then the building to Optimus Prime's right exploded and Ruination came charging out, two blades in hand, roaring an ancient battle-cry.

His first blow caught Optimus in the shoulder, forcing him to drop one of his blasters. As the second blade came down, Optimus leapt back and raised his other blaster, only for Ruination to knock it away across the park. He furiously struck downwards, splitting armour and skin, causing the Prime to cry out and fall back further. He drew a blade of his own, meeting both of Ruination's in the air.

"Prime!" Ruination roared at him as their swords locked, "You need not be here! Let the lives of the lesser fuel the lives of the greater!"

Optimus broke off and kicked Ruination back.

"Exactly what I thought a Decepticon would say!" he cried at Ruination, charging forward.

Ruination looked up with malevolent optics.

"I AM NO DECEPTICON!" he thundered, and charged back, swinging his blades from both left and right. Optimus managed to block the right, but the left caught his arm and energon splattered across the grass.

Falling back even further, Optimus realised that Ruination was a cybertronian possessed. His slashes were faster than anything Optimus had ever encountered before, each one hitting at a thousand miles an hour and coming every second. Optimus rolled back, throwing an uprooted tree at Ruination, who chopped it up like a watermelon. It brought Optimus a single second of rest, before Ruination's deadly assault continued.

Optimus parried one sword, allowing him to push forward against the other, sending Ruination backward. But the former Decepticon dug his feet into the dirt and both transformers met strength with strength. On any other day, Optimus would have triumphed in this battle, but both his shoulders were wounded and Ruination was in a frenzy.

Ruination threw Optimus backwards, but as the Autobot fell back he lashed out with a kick. They both sprawled into the mud and dirt as lightning lit up the night.

Optimus looked up to see the silver staff shooting forth a strange energy into the clouds. Lightning seemed to run up and down the tower, while Space Case stood at the top of this vortex, silhouetted against the epic storm. Optimus realised he had only minutes.

"**It has begun!**" Space Case roared into the darkness, "**The storm will spread across the Earth and when all are bathed in darkness… THEY WILL BE ERADICATED!**"

Optimus looked back to see Ruination descending on him with his two blades. He spat a tooth into the ground.

"Get up, Optimus," Ruination muttered, "This is the last fight… the last dance."

Optimus leapt up and charged, energon flying from his wounds, slamming his sword against Ruination's. And then he let the strength leave him.

Ruination fell forward, surprised for just a second… but that was all it took.

Optimus knocked one of his blades away before striking back with his own. But Ruination gripped his remaining sword in both hands, roaring, and struck as well.

Both blades struck off one another in a shower of sparks, before penetrating their opponent's chest.

Ruination let out a pained gasp while Optimus gritted his teeth. Both of them held on, as each one's lifeblood flowed down their chests.

Eventually, it was Ruination who lost out.

"Optimus…" he gasped in his dying breaths, "Don't… he… just… remember…"

He slid off Optimus's keyblade and fell to the ground.

Then, with the last of his strength, Ruination crawled slowly towards the Eiffel Tower. He dragged himself across the grass, a trail of energon left behind. Eventually, he was below, looking up.

Space Case had lost all interest in the storm. He stared down from up high, looking at Ruination.

Ruination slowly got to his knees, looking up with rueful optics.

"I… tried…" he muttered, his last words, "For the sake of our dreams… for the sake of us all… I had to try…"

And then he slumped forward, silent and unmoving.

* * *

><p>As the lightning struck the ground around him, tearing at buildings across Paris, Optimus pulled Ruination's blade out of him. Energon gushed to the ground as he screamed.<p>

Space Case was still staring down at Ruination.

"**So it comes to this, does it?**" he muttered, his voice carrying across the world, "**To the death of who I once called friend… and did I help in it?**"

Optimus dropped his blade and began to climb the tower.

"**I sent him down to perform an impossible task… to destroy him who ****was once dead****… and why did I?**"

Optimus ascended, each grasp of a rung sending shockwaves of pain through him. He gritted what teeth he had left and continued.

"**And when he struggled, I did not descend… why not?**"

Optimus passed the second level, winds and lightning striking against him, causing him to roar in pain.

"**He was one who I once called friend… and yet the destroyer's plan must continue…**"

Optimus reached the narrow climb to the precipice. Electricity ran through him as the night screamed at him and tried to tear him off.

"**And yet…**" the Praetoricon muttered, looking at the staff which pierced the heavens, "**What good is a future without friends?**"

Optimus reached out to grasp the staff. Space Case made no move to stop him.

"**The universe could be ours… I would act to save us all… and yet what good is all ****of ****that****…**** if there is no reason to live?**"

Lightning slashed Optimus like whiplashes as his fingers drew ever closer to the catalyst.

"**Optimus, if you stop my plan, you kill our race…**" Space Case muttered, "**If you don't, you doom the humans… and now I leave the decision to you. I want no more of this… no more…**"

Optimus looked up at the shadowy form of Space Case. He looked to the staff, energy shooting into the sky like a pillar of light.

He made his decision.

Wracked in pain and hellacious torture, Optimus grabbed the staff and wrenched it free. The pillar vanished. Energy unmatched flowed through Optimus's arm and body.

Screeching, Space Case leapt at Optimus and tackled him off the tower. The staff went flying.

They fell.

* * *

><p>Scratching and punching each other, they both fell towards the park as the storm rained down around them. With an impact that echoed around the continent, they smashed into the ground, the staff embedding into the grass nearby.<p>

All was silent, save for the storm the thundered across the sky.

Slowly, painfully, both transformers got to their feet. Optimus looked up at the sky.

"The storm…" he groaned, "It still rages…"

"**It will always rage ****while I am alive, Optimus Prime,**" Space Case told him mournfully, "**The city is ravaged as we speak… so to end this nightmare, you must kill me. Let us see if you can…**"

Space Case took the staff from the ground, transforming it into a trident of savage design and practical monstrosity. He aimed it towards Optimus Prime.

Optimus drew his keyblade from the ground. His fingers were barely able to hold it.

The Praetoricon swung his trident in an arc that sent forth a rush of air and energy that threw Optimus backwards into a lake. Space Case then slammed the trident into the ground, shaking the buildings, swaying the Eiffel tower and throwing up cars and trucks. Optimus joined them, before slamming back down into the ground.

The Praetoricon paced slowly forward, shadows wreathing off of him. Where he walked, the grass turned to ash and the trees withered and died.

Optimus got to his feet again. Space Case halted.

"**Optimus… every time you are put down, you get up again… I have not seen such determination in anyone before…**"

"_There are some things worth more than land and power…"_

Space Case stared straight ahead. The trident was still in his hand.

The lightning stopped. And yet the storm still raged.

Optimus stood, the keyblade in hand.

"**Come at me Optimus,**" Space Case ordered, "**Try and kill me.**"

Optimus glared and hefted up the blade.

"**You are no more than a coward,**" the Praetoricon snarled, "**Fearful of the mistakes you have made and fearful of what you are, you attempt to lead the humans, to guide them. You fool. The humans are even weaker than you… you need only realise that and realise you are above them. Or you can strike me down and prove me wrong.**"

Optimus charged forward, roaring, energon flying.

"**You have never been anything more than a fool,**" Space Case whispered.

Optimus raised the blade.

"**Goodbye, Optimus Prime.**"

The blade rammed through Space Case's chest, pierced his spark, and exited the other end.

Optimus, shocked, let go.

Space Case looked down at the blade in his chest. He let out a small sigh.

The shadows upon him dissipated. The storm receded as the evening sun glared down upon them. The city was suddenly illuminated, the light of the sun upon them all. The rivers shone, the Eiffel Tower was almost regal…

"Why did you let me kill you?" Optimus asked the Praetoricon.

Only there was no Praetoricon. That creature was no more. Before Optimus's eyes, the shadows completely vanished and there stood Space Case, red and grey, a golden trident in hand. With the blade still inside him, he turned and walked back to the tower.

"I realise now my folly," Space Case muttered sadly as he stood under the tower, "I see that to rule is to die, or forever live in torture. I understand now what drives you, Optimus… and yet call you fool as well."

He turned to look at Optimus. He sat down in the mud, next to Ruination's corpse.

"You may find one or two wise humans among the insects," Space Case told him, "I encountered one myself, yet was too blind to see his wisdom… the folly; they are disgusting creatures, as you will soon find out."

Optimus walked up to him, his pain forgotten.

"What was it all for, Space Case?" Optimus wondered, his mind reeling, "Why let me kill you after all you have done? All you have killed?"

Space Case looked at him with unseeing optics.

"I am a fool… you are a fool… we are all fools, every one of us… they are all fools…"

He looked up to the evening sky, where both sun and moon shared the sky.

"You think these humans care…?" he asked Optimus, almost sobbing, "Our race is dead, and a hundred meta-cycles from now, none of us will be alive… and no-one on your pathetic Earth will care…

"You can try to shape and mould these humans so that they won't repeat our mistakes… but they scheme and plan, pretend and trick… and when all the Decepticons are laid to rest, what will become of you? Nothing… absolutely nothing…"

Optimus just stared at him.

Space Case turned to Ruination.

"I go now… I will see you both in the Matrix… Dead End and Ruination both… all those who died warriors… all fools… all of you… all of us… everyone…"

He leant forward, staring at the ground.

And then his spark stopped.

In the distance, the bells of Notre Dame rang out.

Optimus suddenly felt himself lost, gone, estranged. He did not know what to see or feel.

_What… I…_

He looked up to the sun, moon and stars.

And then he heard a snap.

A single snap.

He turned his head and saw a human snapping a… machine.

He was joined by several others. Some snapped at Optimus, some at the corpses.

Soon there was a crowd of people, snapping machines…

And that's when Optimus realised just what those machines were.

They were cameras.

The people were photographing them; the corpses and Optimus Prime.

_Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap—_

"NOOOOO!" Optimus roared and slammed his foot into the ground. The people screamed and fled, each one scrambling over the other like dogs to get away.

Soon, the park was empty again.

And Optimus felt despair within him… the likes of which he had never felt before.

And then there were footsteps.

Soundwave appeared from beneath the Eiffel Tower, hefting his two sonic blasters, a little smile on his metallic lips.

Yet the footsteps still came.

Starscream landed on the side of the tower, watching them from above, his malicious optics taking in the sight.

Yet the footsteps still came.

Shockwave appeared over Space Case's corpse. He kicked it slightly. He then turned to look at Optimus.

The footsteps stopped.

"I know what this must look like," Megatron growled from behind him, "The vultures coming to clean the meal of whatever meat it has left…"

Optimus could provide no answer.

"But do not despair," came the malevolent snarl of his enemy, "It will all be over soon. You can count on that."

Soundwave chuckled.

"I just wanted to admire the view I have of you; Optimus Prime, defeated at last. And not by any cybertronian… but by the idiocy of those disgusting insects."

Optimus looked to the sky. Megatron lowered a blaster to the Autobot's head.

"_Now _it ends at last."

…

"Goodbye, Optimus Prime."


	22. The Badlands

_**Good Mourning Lives!**_

__Season 2 is on! Get in there! *Fist pumps the air*

I've decided to see this baby to the end! Twelve episodes for Season 2, with many new twists, turns and battle scenes to come! Now, I know I left the previous season on a cliffhangar, but I'm going to start a few more plot threads in this chapter before returning to Paris. Don't worry; everything will be cleared up, I promise that! :) It also has to be a bit short, due to the fact that work is dragging me down :(

And, **Answerthecall**, you're right; I can't please everybody, and everybody can't read my fic... so I'll just please the audience I already have!

Here it is; the return of Good Mourning. And thank you all for reading.

* * *

><p>"Do you see it?"<p>

"Yes… how strange."

"In what way?"

"I… died, on this very spot."

The first looked at him.

"It was here?"

"Yes…"

"Well, all that's over now. It's now about allying them to our cause. The Praetoricon failed."

"He let his emotions get in the way… I know. Heh… it wasn't long ago that I was giving _you _orders."

The first grinned. "How times change. Goodbye, my friend."

Transforming, he shot into the Martian sky, Earth in his sight.

And Dreadwing sat in the ruins of the old space-gate and remembered times gone by.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 22: The Badlands<span>

_Elephants forgot, force-fed on stale chalk;  
>Ate the floors of their cages.<br>Strongmen lost their hair, paybox collapsed and  
>Lions sharpened their teeth.<br>Gloves raced round the ring, stallions stampeded;  
>Pandemonium seesaw…<br>I ran for the door, ringmaster shouted;  
>"All the fun of the Cirkus!"<em>

—**Cirkus (Including Entry Of The Chameleons)**

* * *

><p>The desert stretched out forever, over the horizon, through the sky itself.<p>

And travelling upon it, a chopper and its rider…

They stopped, a village having appeared in the miasma of heat.

"What do you see?" Ryder asked, staring at the wasteland around him.

"Bodies," Sixshot replied, "Everywhere."

They were silent for another minute more. Ryder took off his sunglasses.

"In the village?"

"Where else?"

"In the past."

The chopper roared into life again, charging into the heat-wave.

* * *

><p>They arrived in the village.<p>

It had been abandoned, not recently. The houses were constructs of scrap tin and sheets of poor metal. You were more likely to find a town like this in the Sahara, not in Nevada. And an old watertower stood rusty and decrepit while an old, crooked weathervane creaked in the low wind.

"There's no-one here," Ryder muttered, "You said there were bodies."

"There were. They were cleared away while we moved towards them."

"Did you see who did it?"

"The drones. In the houses."

Ryder pulled ELLIPSIS off of his back. He leapt down from Sixshot.

He put on the sunglasses.

The houses exploded.

Five drones came out, missiles preceding them. Ryder knocked one of them away with the rifle, while Sixshot transformed, leaping into the air as he did so.

The missiles shot underneath him, slamming into each other in an explosion. He landed in the midst of it, drawing his two energon-battle pistols that looked conspicuously like two huge revolvers.

He let off one shot, blowing apart one drone's head, before three others were on him. One went for Ryder.

Standing perfectly still, Ryder held out the six-foot rifle in one hand and shot the drone in the knee. As it stumbled, he loaded a second round, which he shot into the other knee. As the drone fell forward, a third shot smacked into the drone's face, causing its head to explode.

Meanwhile, Sixshot dispatched the other three drones. He dodged three punches at the same time, before flowing like water to smash a fist through one drone's face. He then leapt into the air and shot the other two in the face with both pistols.

The remaining houses exploded and almost three times as many drones charged out.

"Should we retreat?" Sixshot asked.

"There's only sixteen," Ryder sighed, "We might miss lunch, but not dinner."

The sixteen charged.

* * *

><p>Sixshot dispatched two as soon as they got in close, a headshot from each revolver. Ryder hit another in the neck with a shot from ELLIPSIS, while Sixshot rolled forward to engage in fisticuffs.<p>

Three converged on Ryder. Ten converged on Sixshot.

You had to feel sorry for the drones.

Ryder dodged past one and slammed ELLIPSIS like a club into another's ankle. It did little except reverberate, so Ryder ducked in-between his legs and shot a round upwards. The drone's legs snapped together in a reflex as a second drone launched a fist at Ryder. He simply dodged out the way and smacked the fist with the rifle as if scolding a naughty child. The third drone then shot several hundred rounds out of a pair of gatling cannons. Ryder simply evaded the bullets, reloaded, and shot the third drone above the ankle. It quickly dropped to its knees.

The second drone came about and launched a missile at the ground, which Ryder leapt out the way of, before jumping onto the third drone's arm. He leapt up again, onto the drone's shoulder, reloaded, and soared through the air. In mid-air, he shot the second drone in the face, overloading the circuits and blowing the nerve centre apart.

The original drone recovered from its groin ordeal and tried to crush Ryder underfoot as he landed. Instead, the teenager rolled out the way and behind it. The drone turned and got a face full of duster cloak. Removing the clothing from its face, the drone was immediately hit in the optic by a shot from ELLIPSIS. It dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The last drone, still on its knees, looked up. One shot, two shots, three shots smacked into its chest, one after the other, sending volts of terrifying electricity through the automaton. It keeled over, all systems extinguished.

Ryder turned to see Sixshot, still fighting.

He had already dispatched three. Instead of interrupting, Ryder thought it kinder to the robots if he left them alone. Leaning against the corpse of one of his kills, he lit a cigarette.

Sixshot twisted one drone arm clean off, before using it to punch its owner in the face. The one-armed drone toppled over as three leapt at Sixshot. Grabbing one by the neck, Sixshot flung the drone into the other two before splitting a head open with the butt of a revolver. The one-armed drone got back to its feet, only to be dispatched with a headshot.

The remaining five charged all at once. Sixshot blew both legs off one of them, before launching a roundhouse kick at another, sending it careering into the rubble of the village. The other three all threw punches, which Sixshot evaded, before he replied in kind by sending a fist straight through one drone's head. The other two began to circle him while another picked itself up. The legless one started to drag itself towards Sixshot.

The three standing all launched missiles at Sixshot. He dodged two of them, caught the last one, and returned to sender. The remaining two drones decided to not fire any more missiles. They charged, their last doomed effort.

Sixshot kicked one in the chin, snapping its neck and killing it outright, while the other landed a blow to Sixshot's torso, causing him to grunt in pain. He headbutted the last drone standing, causing it to reel. As it turned to charge Sixshot again, the transformer blew its head off with both revolvers. Finally, Sixshot crushed the head of the legless drone underfoot, then wiping the remains on a piece of scrap iron.

"Life would be much simpler without mooks," Ryder noted.

"Shame I let one of them hit me," Sixshot muttered, "I'll need to be more careful next time."

"There wouldn't be a next time if it had been Megatron punching you," Ryder pointed out. He looked around. "Surely there should be some kind of leader—?"

A huge, blue figure slammed into the watertower, smashing it to splinters with his impact. Sixshot and Ryder turned to look at the new arrival.

He rose up, out of the sand and dust.

"Come into the shadow of this red rock…" boomed a deep, powerful voice.

As the smoke cleared, a terrifying figure was revealed, towering over Sixshot.

"Thundercracker," Sixshot muttered.

Ryder frowned, dropped his cigarette onto the sand and ground it underfoot.

"Let's send him packing," he muttered.

"Agreed," Sixshot replied, cocking his two battle pistols, "Son of man."

Thundercracker roared with laughter and drew a savage axe off of his back. He looked at them both with feral eyes. His teeth shone in the sunlight.

He charged, swinging the axe.

* * *

><p>"Commander Cunningham?"<p>

The commander didn't even bother answering the secretary. He strode right on through, pushing open steel-bound doors in the grey bunker.

Eventually, he reached the meeting room. He pushed back his hair and straightened his pitch-black uniform.

He strode in.

Five other commanders were seated around a large oak table. At the head sat a young woman.

"Sorry I'm late, ma'am," he told the lady, taking a seat next to Commander Eisenhower.

"Don't worry, Cunningham," the woman replied, "For we've had some rather important news…"

"Paris?"

"Paris. It's turned into cybertronian central. Our team is completely off the grid."

"We've failed to catch up with them in the past. We arrived too late at both Audi Sarabia and Tibet; Harbinger had picked it clean by the time we got there."

There were some murmurs of dissent around the table. Although the Answerers had maintained an incredibly covert set-up, they were still second to the legendary Harbinger, which always seemed to be one step ahead of them.

"No clues as to the identities of any of Harbinger's agents?"

"Not one," came Commander Rickon's reply, "We're still not even sure that Harbinger is a group."

"Anyway," the woman interrupted, "We have more important matters to discuss; we have made contact."

All but one of the commanders perked up. "Autobot or Decepticon?" Cunningham asked.

"Decepticon. One that goes by the name of Astrotrain."

Cunningham had never heard of this one. "Did he arrive after the dissolvent of the Initiative?"

"Indeed he did," Rickon replied with a smile, "My team made contact with him."

Cunningham rather disliked Rickon. He was youthful, arrogant and, above all, brilliant at his job. Those three factors combined were enough to make any retired general dislike the up-and-comers.

"So are we going for a live capture?" Cunningham asked.

"If that's in our best interests…" Rickon murmured uneasily.

"It is," the woman said, and so it was. "Rickon, your team can handle this, can they not? Cunningham, you'll be in reserve."

And like that, the meeting was over. One by one, the holograms of the other five commanders fizzled out. Soon, only Cunningham and the woman were left.

"You wished to speak with me privately, ma'am?"

"Please, Richard, call me Miss Newell," Ingrid replied, "My great-uncle was ever impressed with your results in Asia. In fact, you're probably one of the only people I trust at this table…"

"Do you think Rickon can pull it off?"

"Maybe. But… something inside of me says that he won't. Because he doesn't understand the most important thing…"

"And what's that, ma'am?"

Ingrid smiled. "He doesn't understand _them_."

Cunningham nodded. Really, he doubted that anyone could understand the visitors. There might be a couple of people in HARP who might possibly… and of course, there was Ingrid.

"You want me in reserve? Is that it?"

"Not exactly," Ingrid replied, and slid a folder across the table towards him. He picked it up and began to read through it.

"The Topaz Mountain."

"It's where HARP's selected their new HQ," Ingrid yawned, "The Department of Defense is wide open these days…"

"You want me to send men to spy on them?"

"Of course. But only after we've dealt with this 'Astrotrain'. It's now codenamed Operation Black Footprint. Here's to our continued success."

When Cunningham was back outside the bunker, one of his colonels was waiting.

"Everything going as planned, sir?" the colonel asked.

"You know what, Callum?" Cunningham asked rhetorically, "The shit's about to hit the fan."

* * *

><p>Thundercracker brought the axe down in a swooping arc that split the air around them. Sixshot and Ryder leapt to the sides and brought up their respective weapons. The Decepticon dodged Sixshot's laser blasts from the revolvers, but did not count on the human's deadly arsenal. A shot from ELLIPSIS slammed into his knee, volts running through him in a painful wave.<p>

Thundercracker smashed back into the ground, causing both Sixshot and Ryder to fly into the air at his impact. With a diving kick, Sixshot smashed a foot into Thundercracker's face, before continuing a heavy kicking assault onto Thundercracker's head. In response, Thundercracker caught a flailing leg and twirled Sixshot around like a ragdoll, before flinging him into the desert. Something smacked into his back.

Thundercracker turned, his red optics ablaze. Ryder reloaded; he estimated it would take another two shots from ELLIPSIS to floor this one.

Thundercracker charged, swinging his axe in front of him in a whirlwind of carnage and death. Pieces of drone were torn up and flung away as both human and Decepticon stared each other down. Ryder, faster than a thunderbolt, raised his rifle and fired a third shot into Thundercracker.

Roaring, the Decepticon brought down the axe, which Ryder evaded. Bullets chased the human across the ground as he reloaded, before leaping into the air again and hitting Thundercracker in the face with a fourth shot.

Ryder dismally reflected that he had only made Thundercracker angrier.

Four missiles sped towards him. He shot one out of the air, but the other three headed inexorably towards their destination…

Two suddenly exploded and the third was kicked into the desert. Sixshot roared through the flames, shooting his revolvers, laser after laser smashing into Thundercracker's chest. Blue metal twisted and sheared, and Thundercracker spat into the ground. He charged and punted Sixshot into the next state. A fifth shot from ELLIPSIS hit his right hand, causing him to drop the axe.

Stomp after stomp followed, with Ryder always inches away from being turned into a fine red paste. Thundercracker kicked out, sand flying everywhere, but Ryder leapt past as if dancing. A sixth shot hit Thundercracker's throat, frying his spine and causing him to drop to his knees. Reloaded, seventh shot to the left knee. Reloaded, eighth shot to the chest. Thundercracker screamed with rage and pain, and charged.

The impact threw both of them up into the air and Ryder hit the ground with a painful thump. He looked up, bleary-eyed.

Thundercracker raised a fist… and his back exploded.

Missile after missile smashed into him, lasers too. He swung around, heavily injured, as Sixshot kept up his deadly assault. A ninth shot from ELLIPSIS took him in the heel.

Screaming, gasping, blinded with pain, Thundercracker transformed and shot into the sky. His blue form was seen glinting in the sunlight as he disappeared into the atmosphere.

Ryder dusted himself off and went to retrieve his coat from a drone's corpse.

"He's not coming back," Sixshot noted.

Ryder put the duster on.

"But what was the point?" Sixshot continued, "What was the point of him and his Decepticon drones to arrive here…?"

"You said there were bodies," Ryder muttered.

"What?"

"You said there were bodies. This place has been abandoned for years. You said you saw the drones clear the bodies away. But there are no bodies."

"Are the dead in the present? They died in the past and some will be remembered in the future. There were no bodies here. But that doesn't mean there won't be bodies in the future. And they don't have to be the same drones."

"Are you saying you can see into the future?"

"I'm saying I can replicate the present. Which would now be the past."

"Whatever you're saying, it sounds like a load of bullshit," Ryder muttered, lighting a cigarette, "Past, present, future; either way, you lied."

Sixshot nodded. "We'll see."

They stared in silence for a moment at the sky.

"The world's full of rats," Ryder whispered.

"Rats? Do humans consider rats deceptive?"

"Oh yes."

"How can that be? You can smell a rat. You can see a rat. You can hear a rat. That's all you need to kill a rat."

Ryder looked at Sixshot, pondering. "Then what would you call the liars and the traitors of this world?"

Sixshot thought for a moment, before transforming back into a motorcycle. "Chameleons. You cannot smell a chameleon. You cannot see a chameleon. You cannot hear a chameleon. So you will never be able to kill a chameleon."

Ryder got on.

"In that case; enter the chameleons."

* * *

><p>"<em>One of your leaders once said…" Allheart drawled, "If you want to test a man, give him power. That's bullshit. If you want to test a man, give him love."<em>

"_I suppose this has some point," Marcus muttered impatiently, "That's relevant to my situation."_

"_No. It's relevant to a situation you might encounter."_

"_I don't even care anymore about your stupid, cryptic ramblings," Marcus argued, "I'd rather I just wake up and stop having these stupid dreams. You do realise that every morning I wake up I'm incredibly tired and I can barely stay awake?"_

"_I never knew that you could get exhausted from dreaming," Allheart muttered sarcastically._

"_But am I dreaming?" Marcus asked, angry, "How do I know this is me being asleep? This could be some sort of… I dunno… strange hallucination?"_

"_Well, if this was some sort of story, I would assume the dreams would be in italics."_

"_Pointless lessons aside, what is it you want?"_

_The Allheart grinned._

"_My immeasurable power has not given me the power of foresight… but it has allowed me to closely predict events to how they will actually happen. And I predict great troubles for you."_

"_Can you predict if Optimus Prime will save the Earth?"_

"_Was there any doubt that he wouldn't? But the question is whether he'll survive…"_

"_You mean he'll die?" Marcus cried._

_The Allheart chuckled._

"_You'll just have to wait and see…"_

* * *

><p>The red planet loomed.<p>

A speck in the vast doom.

And yet bright against it all.

The blue transformer limped and stumbled through the void, before burning through the atmosphere. He smashed into the titanic Olympus Mons.

It was another two hours before Dreadwing found him.

"By Primus..." he hissed.

"H-Help…"

It was another five hours of dragging before Dreadwing finally put the other in the LSRU (Life-Support Repair Unit). And it was another two before he came out.

Steam hissed and disappeared in the small Martian atmosphere as the transformer stepped out. His blue paint had gone, revealing the red and white armour underneath. His cone-head had been restored and not an injury had been left upon him. He grinned at Dreadwing.

"Well… that was a close one."

"I wonder if you got those injuries on purpose," Dreadwing mused, "Seeing as you love the human culture so much, you also probably underestimated them."

"That I did," Ramjet muttered, "The boy did more damage than the other…"

"Stupid, stupid," Dreadwing chided, "Have you learned nothing from Megatron and Optimus?"

Ramjet stared angrily at him, but said nothing, knowing that he was in the wrong.

"But I assume it went perfectly?"

"That it did," Ramjet chuckled, the leering smile returning, "They will believe I was Thundercracker."

Dreadwing nodded. He looked up at the sun.

"Poor, foolish Space Case," Dreadwing murmured, "It's not the humans who should have been killed; you do not drop a bomb on a house to demolish it. No; you knock in the loose bricks, the weak walls. You tear down the house from the inside… and get out before it collapses."

"When the time comes, both Autobots and Decepticons will be too weak to deny the destroyer," Ramjet said, faithfully.

"There is just one problem…" Dreadwing muttered.

"What?"

"Harbinger."

Ramjet nodded. "Who knows what they might be up to? What we cannot see will surely strike…"

"Or just ignore us," Dreadwing muttered, "Until the destroyer and the rest of our forces arrive. Or until Soundwave has some new developments."

"But now…" Ramjet said, sitting back in the dust, "It's time to wait?"

"Wait and watch," Dreadwing agreed, "Until it's time to strike again."

And so they waited in the badlands of Mars; the destroyer's vanguard.


	23. Highway to Hell

The footsteps stopped.

"I know what this must look like," Megatron growled from behind him, "The vultures coming to clean the meal of whatever meat it has left…"

Optimus could provide no answer.

"But do not despair," came the malevolent snarl of his enemy, "It will all be over soon. You can count on that."

Soundwave chuckled.

"I just wanted to admire the view I have of you; Optimus Prime, defeated at last. And not by any cybertronian… but by the idiocy of those disgusting insects."

Optimus looked to the sky. Megatron lowered a blaster to the Autobot's head.

"_Now _it ends at last."

…

"Goodbye, Optimus Prime."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 23: Highway to Hell<span>

_Somewhere a clock strikes midnight  
>And there's a full moon in the sky<br>You hear a dog bark in the distance  
>You hear someone's baby cry<em>

_A rat runs down the alley  
>And a chill runs down your spine<br>And when someone walks across your grave  
>You wish the sun would shine<em>

'_Cause no-one's gonna warn you  
>And no-one's gonna yell 'Attack!'<br>And you don't feel the steel  
>'Til it's hanging out your back!<em>

—**Night Prowler**

* * *

><p>And then the blaster was shot out of his hand.<p>

Three cars shot out of the Parisian streets, machine guns and rocket tubes blazing. Missiles caught Megatron in the knee, the chest and the neck, sending him sprawling and roaring into the dirt. Optimus didn't even turn around.

Soundwave turned just in time to be hit in the chest by a laser, smashing him into the tower. Starscream, confused by the Decepticons sudden change in position, leapt into the air, believing the whole Autobot army was attacking. He fled into the sky.

Shockwave simply stared. Four missiles exploded against him and seven lasers pierced his armour. He simply watched with something akin to light bemusement.

Topspin charged him. The blue Wrecker transformed and leapt into the air, swinging a short sword towards Shockwave. It connected with the Decepticon's shoulder, who literally shrugged it off. He slowly paced towards where Optimus stood, bewildered.

"Optimus!" Roadbuster cried as he circled his leader, "WE'VE GOT TO MOVE!"

Shockwave inched forward, crushing Space Case's head underfoot as he did so.

Sgt Recon leapt from Roadbuster's window and raised his sabot launcher to face off against the titanic Decepticon.

"I'll have you, you one-eyed bitch!" he spat, firing a round towards Shockwave's head.

Shockwave took the blow to the neck. He then stomped the ground. Recon found himself flying through the air, before smacking off Roadbuster's hood.

At that moment, Megatron got to his feet, groaning. Soundwave leapt up, anger flaring across his face.

"Boss," Leadfoot muttered, "We might need so heavier artillery…"

"OPTIMUS!" Topspin roared, "WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

Optimus was suddenly brought back to his senses. He saw three angry Decepticons.

"L-Let's go," he muttered, transforming painfully, damage wracking his body. His truck form sped away from the square, the Wreckers following. Leaning out Roadbuster's window, Sgt Recon flipped the bird.

Megatron stared after them. He growled menacingly; "Optimus is not to leave the city. I want him brought before my throne… alive."

Shockwave and Soundwave nodded, disappearing in a blue light.

* * *

><p>"I… I thought I would die back there…" Irving muttered from where he sat at the table, drinking a cup of hot coffee.<p>

"No worries, mate," Leo replied from where he prepared a cup for himself, "It always helps to know that whoever I rescued would do the same for me."

Irving nodded and sipped from his cup again. _Dumped by the side of the road like a corpse… those goddamn Decepticons._

"You still haven't told me your story," Leo continued, taking a seat opposite of Irving, "Randall, ain't it? What were you talking about? You know… about the Decepticons?"

Irving eyed him suspiciously. "Why would you want to know?"

"Because I was there," Leo replied, excitedly, "I was a bit stupid back then… but boy, was Egypt a blast!"

Irving raised an eyebrow. "You were in Egypt?"

"Bam smack in the middle of Operation Firestorm," Leo replied earnestly, "Riding with Sam Witwicky and that piece of hot, smoking… ahem."

The poor sap had obviously not heard of his friends' recent departure from the livin,g and Irving kindly decided not to enlighten him.

"So I have experience with them," Leo finished proudly, "Bumblebee, Optimus Prime… and those evil S., the Decepticons; I was right in the middle!"

"And after that?" Irving pressed, hoping to keep the kid's attention away from Randall's recent history.

"It all went by in a blur," Leo said, slightly sad, "Black suits knocked on my door and told me not to tell anyone… and I quickly dropped out of college after that. But then I met Shanna and, well… I've pretty much matured since then."

"You love her, don't you?"

Leo held up his right hand, a golden ring wrapped around his fourth finger. "Engaged. Do you have any idea what it's like to be in love?"

"I have a good one," Irving said miserably.

"Well, instead of concentrating on all that, you can tell me why we found you at the side of the road, muttering curses about Decepticons and… 'Harbinger'?"

Irving looked up, frustrated at his slip of the tongue. He stared at the young adult across the table; they were of a similar age and the kid had a sense of wonder that Irving had once possessed…

"Fine then," Irving sighed, "I'll tell you about my chase and torture with those gits."

* * *

><p>"HUZZAH!" Recon roared as he blew a truck off the road with his rocket launcher. The four vehicles thundered past, smashing through debris and devastation. The highway stretched out before them, ravaged from the recent lightning strikes.<p>

"W-What are you four doing here?" Optimus asked, confused and far away.

"Being confined at the president's pleasure pissed us off," Recon snorted, "So we bust out of jail. As soon as we heard of this storm, we knew you'd go there; you could never turn down trouble. So we decided to see if we could join up again and what'daya know? You're about to be executed. So we thought about busting out your ass as well."

"Another two miles 'til we're out of town," Leadfoot called, protecting the heavily-injured Optimus's left side. "We'll make it yet—"

A missile smashed into the ground in front of him, opening up a hole in the middle of the highway. Leadfoot disappeared into it, falling into darkness.

"PRIME!" screeched a voice from above. They all looked up.

Starscream roared through the sky, three missiles speeding from his F-22 form.

"No fair!" Recon cried, "Why can't we have wings?"

The missiles smashed into the ground around them, forcing them to zigzag and dodge around the craters that suddenly loomed before them. A missile smashed into Topspin, who screamed and went into another hole.

Roadbuster braked hard and swerved. "Go Optimus!" he cried, "We'll hold them off!"

Optimus continued on as Recon got out, hefting his rocket launcher onto his shoulder.

Starscream transformed and landed before them. He stared at the both of them with bemused eyes.

"Let's do this," Recon spat.

"We won't survive," Roadbuster replied.

"We're the Wreckers. Not the fucking 'Survivors'."

With an inclination of their heads, they both roared and charged.

* * *

><p>He stared at the Earth. He looked long and hard, rage swelling inside of him with every second.<p>

He stood there for many hours, letting his rage increase within him like magma in a volcano. No-one dared approach him, too terrified to draw his ire.

He slowly raised his right hand to his face and made a clenching motion with his thick fist, crushing the Earth within his vision. But when he took the dark hand away, the Earth was still there, blue and green and blue and green and blue and green… and he hated every inch of it.

"We've been sitting on the fence for far too long…"

Eventually, one Decepticon was insane enough to draw closer.

"What's up?" Fracture asked innocently, drawing closer to the hulking and wrathful form of Bludgeon.

"Look at it," he whispered with the power of thunder, "Staring at us. A disgusting, maggot-infested rock with nothing to offer us… except revenge. Why Lord Megatron has not ordered a full scale assault on the planet is above me. It is ripe for the taking; pathetic, drawn-out and weak."

"It's so that we can gather the Pillars…" Fracture trailed off. It somehow seemed hollow.

"A farce, and we all know it," Bludgeon hissed, "It is a tactic to delay the inevitable; the battle that will consume this system."

"And when will this battle happen?" Fracture sighed, already growing bored by Bludgeon's ranting.

"Why not the next quarter-cycle?" Bludgeon growled, "I can marshal the troops, bring them to heel, and carve out my own frontier upon this blasted rock."

"How ambitious of you," Fracture whispered, leaning against his huge form.

"It is not ambition. It is duty to the Decepticon cause."

"Of course it is," she added airily, "Although… I wonder if you could actually do it…"

Bludgeon turned to look down on her for the first time. "You doubt I could conquer that disgusting little world?"

"You could die…"

"To die fighting is to not die at all. It's life fulfilled."

"But what if you lose?"

"Then I would not dishonour myself by being alive to see it."

"It's not as easy as it looks," Fracture muttered, looking out to Earth again, "Megatron and his legions have fallen three times against the Autobots and humans combined."

"Megatron is weak."

Fracture looked up in surprise. "Oh really? Then why aren't _you_ leader of the Decepticon army?"

He looked at her coldly. "That day may yet come."

She giggled and salaciously walked away. Bludgeon watched her go, before turning back to look at the Earth.

_It will all be mine… no, ours. I am only here thanks to the Decepticon army, our brotherhood… even though Megatron has grown soft and the soldiers are now worse than rats. But I remember days of conquest, of the pride of victory! How the sweet smell of burnt corpses has long since passed by… but no longer. The roar of battle and the fires of war, the things I have missed! NO LONGER!_

"I will strike a blow to this planet, unprecedented. No more shady deals, no more alliances; simple war must be waged in order for the true worth of our cause to be revealed. And if I should die, so be it! What better way to die than to fight for the simple pleasure of fighting? Honest, brave… free. THE WORLD WILL BURN AND I WILL LAUGH!"

* * *

><p>The Earth turned, ever so slowly.<p>

And now the Seekers had arrived.

Alone, racing down the highway, Optimus weaved in and out of missile strikes. Thundercracker, Skywarp and Overcast flew overhead, their shadows dancing across the roofs of Paris.

"Give up, Optimus!" Thundercracker boomed from above, "And the end will be quick!"

Optimus could not care to answer, smashing through a burnt-out car. His huge engine roared, throaty but injured.

A laser slashed his back end and his rear tires melted, so that he was driving on the metal rims. The wheels screeched and sparks flew. He gritted whatever teeth he had left and drove on.

"It's all over," Thundercracker chuckled and launched his last missiles…

Which were blown out of the sky. The three Seekers tumbled through the flames, momentarily confused.

"What the—?" Overcast cried, before suddenly being set aflame and falling, screaming, towards the ground.

Five Eurofighter Typhoons roared through the skies. Optimus did not see them, but he heard them well enough.

"_Bonjour__!_" cried a voice through his communicator, "_Optimus Prime, this is Wing Commander Duvant! We're here to save your bacon!__"_

The two Seekers split up, three Typhoons on Thundercracker's tail, two on Skywarp's. Missiles trailed through the sky, criss-crossing one another, a ballet of death.

"Damn it!" Thundercracker roared, "We don't have time for this!"

"Let me, sir!" Skywarp cried, "I can handle these five; go after the false Prime!"

Thundercracker thought for a moment. He weighed his options carefully.

"Skywarp, I want the five nose-cones from each of these human tin-cans. If you can do that, I'll promote you."

"Yes sir!"

Without another word, Thundercracker charged through the dance of angels, heading after Optimus.

"Come on then," Skywarp hissed, a grin hidden within his cockpit, "I'll show you how to fly like a pro. It'll be a lesson you'll be too quick to forget."

* * *

><p>"<em>This is Wing Commander Duvant!<em>" a panicked voice cried over the communicator, "_My squadron has been destroyed and I'm—ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!_"

_They sacrificed themselves for me_, Optimus thought, barely noticing the buildings flying past, _And yet so many more have tried to end us. Traitors, Decepticon sympathisers… all of them._

_No! There is good… somewhere…_

_What is left for us except betrayal?_

He was broken out of his reverie when Thundercracker dropped in front of him, his two hands having transformed into axes.

Slowly, wracked with pain, Optimus transformed. He stood against Thundercracker, a blaster in one hand.

"Do you remember, Prime?" Thundercracker muttered, "This is how it all began. You and I, where you failed to stop me in front of the world. That day still haunts you, does it not? And now, to meet at the end… it's almost destined. And now your tragic tale… is over."

He slowly paced forward, his axes reverberating with eagerness to finish the Autobot. Optimus couldn't even raise the rifle; he could barely stand.

A plane flew overhead.

"This is the end, Optimus Prime," Thundercracker laughed, and he raised his axes.

"Yes…" came a voice from above, "But only the end for you, Thundercracker."

Both Optimus and Thundercracker looked up, shock on their faces.

They saw the parachutes.

"No…" Thundercracker muttered.

Arcee cut the parachutes from her with a serrated blade.

"YES!" she cried, streaking downwards as the other soldiers of HARP descended as well.

Thundercracker rolled out of the way as Sideswipe, Bumblebee and Mirage dropped as well. Soldiers rolled in as well, carrying a vicious array of weaponry that could turn tanks into liquid. They all looked up at Thundercracker.

"Miss us, big guy?" Kaminari Ishihara asked with a crocodile smile, and no-one could tell if she was asking Optimus or Thundercracker.

Surrounded by angry foes, all pointing guns at him, all experienced soldiers, Thundercracker spat in defiance and shot into the sky. He roared away, crying cybertronian curses.

The soldiers sighed with relief and the Autobots relaxed.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Mirage reminded them, "Let's go!"

Reinforced by old friends and new ones, Optimus continued on, seeing the first glimmers of hope in that ruined city.

* * *

><p>"There it is!" Bumblebee cried, "The exit!"<p>

On the horizon, fields of green and yellow flowed out like sea of grass. Windmills and cottages… and no way to be trapped.

Suddenly, a figure burst out from underneath the highway. Leadfoot slammed back down onto the tarmac, roaring with glee. Topspin followed him onto the highway, his wheels screaming with the strain of his crazy movements.

"What are these guys doing here?" Arcee asked.

"What are _you_ guys doing here?" Topspin countered in return.

"We went to Diego Garcia," Arcee whispered and Optimus's ray of hope was replaced by depression, "And we saw what had happened. Ratchet and Lennox told us everything. We came here as soon as we could."

"Well, the Wreckers just saw a storm brewing," Leadfoot grunted, "And wondered why we weren't in the middle of it."

"Which reminds me," Sideswipe said, "Isn't there a third one of you guys…?"

And then they heard a distant screaming. And they heard it getting closer.

They looked up.

Roadbuster was falling out of the sky, Sgt Recon hanging onto him for dear life. They plummeted like stones in water.

"I've got 'im!" Topspin cried, slowing down as the other Autobots continued on. Watching behind him, they saw Topspin transform and leap into the air, catching Roadbuster as he fell, Sgt Recon barely able to hold on.

They fell again, slamming into the tarmac. They got up, dusted themselves off and then continued down the highway.

"Hell yeah!" Recon whooped, "The gang's together again; the Autobots are back in business!"

"What about Starscream?" Topspin asked.

"For a snivelling coward," Roadbuster muttered, "He put up a bitch of a fight."

"Did you win?"

"What are you, brain-dead? Do you think we jumped that high?"

Topspin laughed and the two Wreckers drove on to reunite with their comrades.

* * *

><p>They drove in formation, protecting their injured leader.<p>

Arcee was in front, Sideswipe to her back-left, Bumblebee to her right-left. Back further, but in-between them, was Optimus Prime, barely able to drive onwards. Behind him was Mirage, while flanking him were the Wreckers. A soldier took up every available seat in the convoy; Kaminari rode of Arcee.

And then they were out.

The hills and fields stretched out around them, as fluffy white clouds gathered overhead.

"Ratchet, we need an emergency pickup!" Arcee cried.

"_It's another hour until we touch down in Kublak Han. Until then, we can't teleport you out of there; just get as far away from the city as you can! We're almost at the Topaz Mountain._"

Arcee cursed under her breath and continued onward.

And then something dark and huge rose before them.

As if out of a nightmare, a black skeleton of twisted steel and rippling power appeared before them. He towered over everyone, his malevolent eye glaring at each of them in turn.

They stopped. The humans got out and the Autobots transformed.

They stood off against Shockwave.

"I need not remind you," he intoned, "But Optimus is the only Transformer who can logically defeat me in a fight. In his current state, he is more likely to lose after his first step. If you give him up, then I will let the rest of you go free."

There was silence. The Autobots and humans stared up with matched hatred.

"I'm shocked," Arcee said dryly, "Shockwave, sparing lives? I never knew the moon was made of cheese."

"There will be plenty of time to hunt down the rest of you later," Shockwave uttered, "If you wish to live at least one day more, leave now."

"An interesting offer," Mirage snarled with a voice that said he thought it was anything but, "But count up your logical numbers Shockwave; do you think you can beat all of us… do you really?"

Shockwave's optic gave nothing away. Gears thick with unmatched intelligence turned like clockwork, while servos whirred like advanced computers.

He stared at the defiant faces around him, each holding a weapon, no matter how small. Each time his gaze passed over someone, they felt a daunting terror within themselves, something despairing and hateful…

And finally his eye rested on Optimus Prime. The optic stared intently, almost hungrily, as if trying to tear him apart with a gaze.

And then, one word:

"Go."

Shockwave stepped aside, allowing them passage.

For a moment, there was shocked hesitation. And then the soldiers rushed into the vehicles and the Autobots sped down the highway, past the wrathful titan. They travelled towards the rising sun, the wrecked city to their backs.

They soon disappeared into the horizon.

"_Uh… Shockwave?_"

"Astrotrain. What do you want?"

"_Two things: We're all set for the meeting with the Answerers; the weapons are ready. And second…"_

"You wonder why I let them go."

"_It's not for me to question sir… but yes, I do wonder._"

"There was a 71% chance of my victory if I fought them. 29% is too much of a risk. That is all."

"…_Is it, sir?_"

Shockwave frowned. It was not usual for Astrotrain to question him. Then again, he had made a big decision.

"It is not for you to question my decisions, Astrotrain," Shockwave uttered, "Don't ever do it again."

"_Yes sir._"

He closed communications.

But Shockwave knew that Astrotrain had reason to doubt him. Although 29% was quite a bit of a risk, that wasn't the reason he had let them go.

_The point of the hunt, _he considered, _Is not to catch the prey… but to chase it._

* * *

><p>It stuck out like grey needle, stretching high into the sky. Marcus, being a city boy whose only travelling had been to tropical islands, had never seen anything like it.<p>

"The Emerald Peak, right?" he asked, trying to remember, as the airplane swung round it.

"The Topaz Mountain," Gerin corrected with a smile, "Have you never seen a mountain before? This one is quite small."

"It's bigger than any skyscraper I've ever seen," Marcus whispered, pressing his face to the aircraft window. He marvelled at it.

Most mountains are either white, capped with snow, or brown, dirty and rocky. The Topaz Mountain was neither. But, then again, something called the Topaz Mountain would have been expected to be radiant. It wasn't that either.

Instead, it was black. A reflective, shining black, almost like marble. The light sprung off it in peculiar ways, making it glisten in the evening sun. But what was more notable than its colour was its location. It sat on the edge of the jungle and the desert, splitting the two zones in half. The Sahara lay to its north, while the jungles of Mali and the hidden HARP base of Kublak Han were to the south.

"Why do they call it the Topaz Mountain?" Marcus asked.

"A century and a bit ago, the British cut deep into Africa, expanding their huge empire. They crushed the mountain tribes and united the terrified people of these nations. Spreading south, they left behind a garrison which took to exploring the jungle, during which they found the mountain. Back then, it gleamed like gold, shining like a second sun thanks to the quality topaz within. The British quickly realised that this was the break of a lifetime, to become rich beyond their wildest dreams. Soon, they were mining it like the conquerors they were, enlisting the locals as slaves to help the dig.

"Naturally, this didn't sit too well with the indigenous people. Led by King Shalabahm IV, they ousted the British garrison and set up their own state. There was one glaring problem though…"

"What was it?"

"Shalabahm became a dictator. He set his people on the mountain with renewed vigour and sucked very last pound of topaz from its roots. It quickly became a black shadow of its former self, casting its angry glare on the country. The British that went south, having been ousted out of Zululand, came back north and found their garrison swaying from the jungle branches, picked on by vultures.

"And then came the battle. For five days and five nights, the British and the Malians fought under the shadow of that mountain, killing each other over hatred and yellow crystals."

"Who won?"

"No-one did. They all killed each other. The survivors from both sides slipped into the jungle and desert, wasting away with metal no-one would buy. From then on, the mountain was considered cursed and the people here fled further south. They have a saying about it. This is it, more or less, translated from Swahili:

_The mountain dark, has gleamed once more,__  
>And never will again.<em>_  
>All will be dust and perish with it,<em>_  
>And when <em>_it crumbles, so will you…__  
>Join the noble brotherhood of the dead.<em>"

"Not foreboding in any way, is it?" Marcus muttered.

Gerin smiled, as the plane turned and the mountain was lost from view.

"Better buckle up," she told him, "We're coming into land."

* * *

><p>Four hangars. Three barracks. A control tower. A rusty generator. A dirty runway. A living area. A communications bunker. A small office building.<p>

That was HARP Mali. Kublak Han.

And yet, it had never been so active.

Trucks drove across the runway, just getting across before another plane would land. Tents were erected, soldiers unloaded, arms were presented. And the Autobots appeared in flashes of blue light.

Most of the soldiers stared up and gaped. Nearly all were new recruits, brought in the fill up the gaps left by the recent battles. Lennox quickly interceded their wonder.

"Move along guys!" he shouted, "They're not a museum piece. They'll be saving your lives in future, so looking at them like they've just shot your mother won't win you friends!"

The Human Resources jet landed and taxied. As soon as it stopped, Marcus and Stacy were the first to leap out.

"This place is a dump," Marcus instantly whined, "Why can't we have a base on the mountain? Better yet, why not have a base _in _the mountain? Like those guys in _Team America_!"

Stacy sighed, before spotting a limping figure, supported by Bumblebee and Sideswipe.

"Optimus!" she cried out in despair.

It was a miracle he was still alive, let alone walking. Energon leaked from dozens of cuts, broken armour and burnt metal charring his once regal figure. He staggered forward, to where Ratchet waited with medical tools of all shapes and sizes.

"Get him to hangar three," Ratchet ordered, to which Bumblebee and Sideswipe responded. Optimus was moved into the shadow of the hangar, out of sight.

"At least he's still alive," Marcus sighed, relieved.

"What about the Decepticons?" Stacy asked, "Did he stop them…?"

"Of course he did! Else we'd be toast, right?"

Stacy punched him playfully. "Don't say things like that! We almost were!"

"Well," Marcus said wistfully, holding his chin like a proper gentleman of enigmatic nature, "At least I'd have been a handsome corpse."

Stacy rolled her eyes and when they had rested, she spotted a plane that had just landed and stopped. She saw who stepped out first.

"Oh…" she said, quick enough to stop herself from finishing.

"Fuck?" Marcus supplied helpfully, also spotting who had arrived.

General Mason stepped down from the plane, his uniform glistening with medals and pride. Wearing a sweaty smile, he waddled down onto the tarmac. Reluctantly, Colonel Lennox moved to greet him.

"General Mason, it seems we are graced by your presence yet again," he uttered dryly.

Mason either missed the sarcasm or ignored it. "As you should be," the general replied with his horrendous bluster, "With the recent departure of our beloved Charlotte Mearing, Washington's in a crisis over who to elect, especially over the business in France. So, as I am the only high-ranking officer from the Pentagon who has experience with the Autobots, I'm back in charge of HARP."

"The men will be glad to have you back," Lennox responded in a monotone.

"Of course, of course," Mason muttered, moving past Lennox to get a better look at the base.

"Well then," he chuckled, staring around him, "To taste anew the fruits of life… I'm back in charge. Megatron better watch his back."

As a general rolling of the eyes echoed around runway, Mason moved in to take control.

But then a strange buzzing was heard. Everyone stopped.

The buzzing grew louder.

"That's not bees, is it?" Marcus asked, fearfully.

The buzzing grew into a roaring. The new recruits nervously gripped their weapons.

Something smashed through the jungle. It roared onto the airfield, men rushing to get out of the way and diving to the ground.

It shot down the runway, before superbly braking before a terrified General Mason.

The huge Harley Davidson and its rider looked at the general.

"Well," Ryder muttered, "Looks like I'm going to have to invest in beef and plungers."

Immediately, several dozen sabot launchers were pointed at him and his ride. From his terrified state, came a bubbling anger over General Mason.

"HOW DARE YOU ENTER LIKE THAT! AND WHAT'S WITH THE BIKE?"

"This," Ryder indicated, pointing a finger downwards, "Is Sixshot."

"What?"

"No; who."

It began to dawn on everyone.

"YOU BROUGHT A DECEPTICON INTO THE BASE?" Mason roared.

"Not a Decepticon, General Shitter," Ryder sighed, "But a new recruit. Like these imbeciles pointing guns at us."

By that time, the other Autobots had arrived to see what was going on. Gerin Rahb did as well.

"What I want to know is," she said, clearing her throat, "Is how you got here, Mali, from the middle of Nevada in just one day."

"I'm fast," the motorcycle answered. The recruits tightened their grip on the guns.

"And how did you know our new base was here?" Ratchet asked.

"Well," Ryder said, thinking, "First we travelled to Las Vegas airport, to see if there was a plane going to India, or any islands around there. It was pretty packed and Sixshot doesn't like waiting in line. So we went to Los Angeles, to see if there were any planes going from there. There were, but by the time we got there we learned of Diego Garcia's destruction. Knowing that you can't count out the Autobots, we travelled to Washington D.C. to find the new location of the base. We broke into the White House, high-fived the President and found out you were going to a place named the 'Topaz Mountain'. We then made a bet on whether or not we'd beat you guys here. How much did we miss you by?"

There was stony silence. Ryder shrugged.

"Either way," he finished, patting the motorcycle, "Cough it up, lughead."

There was a slight rumbling, before a small bar of gold spat out of the motorcycle, landing in Ryder's arms.

"That explanation made no sense," Gerin said, exasperated.

"If you can give a better one, I'd like to hear it," Ryder sighed with a shrug.

"We also met a few Decepticons," Sixshot reminded him, "And toasted them."

"Oh yeah," Ryder muttered, as if they were a mere afterthought, "We did that too."

"You have some explaining to do," growled General Mason like a petulant volcano.

Ryder sighed and lit a cigarette. "If you insist."

* * *

><p>Within the throne room, they gathered.<p>

Atop his high throne, the grim figure of Megatron looked down on them all. At the foot of the high chair, Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave stood bowed.

Behind them, the lieutenants stood as well. Thundercracker, Barricade, Fracture, Bludgeon, Astrotrain and, recently promoted to the rank after delivering five Typhoon noses, Skywarp. They bowed as well, paying their respects to their lord and leader.

"Optimus escaped," Megatron growled, "Who is responsible?"

There was silence. Then:

"I am, Lord Megatron," Shockwave intoned. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"You?" Megatron muttered, "My most loyal soldier?"

"Loyalty has nothing do with my failure. Just my ability."

"So are you too… old, to fight with the Decepticons?" Megatron asked.

"Not old," Shockwave replied, his tone expressionless, "Merely tired. I will need to rest and not involve myself in any new operations. After that, I should be fine to continue."

Behind him, Astrotrain's optics flickered. Being Shockwave's personal flunky, he knew quite a lot about his commander. And he knew that Shockwave had never rested in his life.

"As your failure rate is exceedingly low," Megatron allowed begrudgingly, "I will forgive this one slip-up. But be warned, Shockwave; if you ever fail again, then I will be forced to terminate you."

Shockwave bowed his head. "Of course, Lord Megatron."

"Then you are all dismissed," Megatron growled, "Save you, Soundwave. I want a word."

As the lieutenants shuffled out, Astrotrain hung slightly behind. But then he felt a huge hand on his shoulder.

"Astrotrain," Shockwave intoned, "Follow."

He made his way out of the throne room, quickly followed by the lieutenant.

Shockwave led Astrotrain through the twisting corridors of the _Ark_, before heading out of an exit onto the lunar surface.

After a minute or two of walking Shockwave stopped. Astrotrain sidled up beside him.

"When you look at that planet," Shockwave asked, "What do you see?"

Astrotrain looked up.

There it was. A ginormous marble of blue, white and green.

"I see a planet, teeming with life and insects, all trying to—"

"No," Shockwave uttered, "What do _you _see?"

"I-I don't think I understand, commander."

"Cybertronians like Megatron and Bludgeon only see a rock that they hate and despise above all else, while fools like Soundwave see only beauty. I ask what you see."

Astrotrain stared at the Earth. He thought about what it meant to him, what it could mean to him. Being one of the few Decepticons not to have died once, he had been among the humans, learning their traits and pastimes. He considered, long and hard.

"I…" he muttered, "I see a planet, teeming with life and insects. That's the truth of it. I don't hate it. I don't love it. It's just there… ready for the taking."

Shockwave nodded, but was not pleased. Nothing could ever please him. But he was… satisfied.

And then something sparkled in the darkness. Astrotrain frowned. Shockwave saw him and turned to look as well.

The sparkle came closer, brighter. Astrotrain frowned deeper. Shockwave did not move an inch.

Eventually, an orange object came speeding out of the darkness, screaming as it smashed into the lunar surface, screeching through the dust towards the two Decepticon's feet.

It finally came to a stop, directly below the two Decepticons.

Astrotrain gave it a tentative kick. It groaned.

"Boss?" Astrotrain questioned.

"It is one of Starscream's units," Shockwave informed, "Which one it is, I cannot tell."

"Thanks for recognising me," the thing grumbled, before pushing itself out of the dust.

Shockwave nodded, finally realising who it was. "Fearswoop. The last time I saw you, you were splayed all over a forcefield."

"I…" Fearswoop moaned, shaking his head to clear the cybernetic cobwebs from his violent impact, "I… was with Space Case…"

Instantly, Shockwave picked Fearswoop out of the dirt and held him up with one hand.

"Tell me everything."


	24. Love Over Gold

Brrgh. That's the sound of a mix between an annoyed sigh and a feeling of slight cold in my toes.

The reason that I'm annoyed is that I don't think this chapter is very good. Yep, I'm being honest here; this ain't my best work. I was mighty distracted last week and usually only wrote when I was tired. Oh well; the three-parter 'Bludgeoned to Death' is next Saturday and I promise it'll be much better!

Anywho, thanks (annually) to **Megan666 **and **Mytical-Myst-Devil **for reviewing!

Oh man. Knowing people read this just brings joy to my heart. :)

* * *

><p>"Astrotrain, huh?"<p>

Walking shoulder to shoulder, the two commanders of the Answerers travelled down a bleak, concrete corridor.

"That's right," Rickon replied, smiling, "What a lousy name. I mean they've got guys on their side called Starscream and Shockwave and this loser's called 'Astrotrain'!"

Cunningham grimaced. _If this is his mind-set going into this__'__ meeting__'__, we're doomed._

"Remember," Cunningham said, "That we're ten miles away. If any trouble brews, we may not make it in time to save you."

"Save me?" Rickon laughed, "This guy sounds like a little punk. The chances are he fires his bullets backwards and his missiles misfire!"

Rickon laughed again. Cunningham gritted his teeth.

"Anyhow," Rickon continued, "Once we've got this 'Astrotrain' under the light, then we can begin the real fun!"

"You think the capture will go down like a breeze? Have you ever considered that this Decepticon doesn't want to be captured?"

"It doesn't matter what he wants," Rickon replied, "When he's tied up with titanium cable!"

Another ear-splitting laugh. Cunningham had had enough.

"Listen," he said angrily, "I've had much more experience with these guys than you, Rickon. Have you ever seen them up close?"

Rickon frowned. "I've seen the images—"

"Fuck the images," Cunningham retorted, "I've seen Optimus and his Autobots up close as they destroyed our mobile fortress. I watched as Carter Newell was fried alive by the goddamn Decepticons. They beat us. And we were better than you."

Rickon gave a contemptuous little smile. "Oh really? Then why aren't you leading this operation? Instead, you're my… reserve."

Cunningham was seconds away from smacking him. "When I'm in reserve and Astrotrain starts his wrecking spree, you'd better beg pretty hard."

"I'm begging for you to stop right there," Rickon said, "Before I start laughing."

Without another word, Cunningham turned and stalked away, Rickon's laughing eyes following him out.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 24: Love Over Gold<span>

_I hear the seven deadly sins  
>And the terrible twins<br>Came to call on you  
>The bigger they are, baby<br>The harder they fall on you  
>And you, you're always the same<br>You persevere  
>On the same old pleasure ground<em>

_Oh, and it never rains… around here;  
>It just comes pouring down<em>

—**It Never Rains**

* * *

><p><strong>Interview Session #1: Relations, both by blood and bonds.<strong>

"Good day, Marcus," Gerin said with a trademark award-winning smile, "Please, take a seat."

"A seat?" Marcus repeated, looking at the leather couch, "Aren't patients supposed to lie down?"

"You can if you want to. Whatever makes you comfortable."

Marcus lay down on the soft leather coach, putting his hands on the back of his head, and stared at the ceiling.

"Now then Marcus," Gerin said, looking down at a clipboard, "I have been ordered to perform several interviews to class the personnel in Kublak Han."

"'Class'?"

"I need to build a psychological profile on everyone," Gerin informed, "It shouldn't take long and it doesn't really concern you, yet I need to do it anyway. Are you comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Then I will begin."

"_You better not mention a word about me," Allheart hissed, "Or I'll slit your throat open as you sleep."_

Marcus stiffened. Gerin did not fail to notice.

"Are you alright, Marcus?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah," he muttered, "The light's all…"

"The light?"

"Yeah. It's a bit bright."

"_You can't do anything to me," Marcus said in his mind, "You need me to survive."_

Gerin moved over to the light. She flicked it off. Marcus tried desperately not to stare at her legs as she walked back to her seat.

"_True," Allheart agreed, whispering, "But her… I see your mind, child. You want to undress her, touch her, oh, such a naughty little boy!"_

"_SHUT UP!"_

Gerin also noted the flush creeping up Marcus's cheeks.

"Are you ill?" she asked, a frown forming.

"N-No, really."

A suspicious silence followed, but was just as quickly dismissed when Gerin looked at her clipboard.

"Right then, Marcus. First off, your current relationships; how are things going with Stacy?"

Marcus shrugged. "Great. She's stuck with me for as long as I can remember and… well, we're sort of an item."

"Sort of?" Gerin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ok, we _a__re_ an item."

"What are your common interests?"

"Reading. We read a lot of books back at the orphanage…"

"Like what?"

"Well, there weren't much options. There was this big kid, Gary, who read a lot of spy stuff, so we had those on hand: _The Dogs of War_, _The Sum of all Fears_, a couple of spy autobiographies… those were tossed between us and we took turns rereading them. We got more education out of those then we did out of school."

"Hmm… have you ever read _The Catcher in the Rye_?"

"No. Sounds boring."

"It isn't. It's a wonderful book, the only one that's ever made me cry."

"Really?" Marcus asked, surprised, "What's it about?"

"I'll tell you another time. For now, we should be concentrating on you. Do you think about Stacy often?"

"She's really the only friend I have in the world…"

"What about me?" Gerin asked, playfully, putting on a hurt face.

"Y-You're great too!" Marcus said, stumbling over his words, "Colonel Lennox and Sergeant Epps are great guys as well. So's Kaminari Ishihara… Irving's a bit unsettling though. I haven't seen him around lately…"

"What about the general?" Gerin asked with a knowing smile.

Marcus made a retching motion, to which she laughed.

"I get the picture," she giggled, "I guess everyone thinks that… but what about Ryder? Are you friends with him?"

"I wish I could say I was," Marcus replied, "But he acts all cool, like some James Dean archetype. But, really, he's more alien than the Autobots."

Gerin stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm shocked."

"Huh?"

"I've interviewed several kids in my life, all older than you, and several young soldiers. I bet not one of them knew who James Dean was."

Marcus smiled. "The orphanage wouldn't give us money to go to the cinema or buy movies. So we just had stuff like _Rebel Without a Cause_ from the forties and fifties…"

"That place sounds like a real pig sty. But we'll get to it later," she said, before looking at him quizzically. "But if you know James Dean, you know he was really cool. Why isn't Ryder?"

"What kind of a teenager wears a longcoat?" Marcus exclaimed emphatically, "And has grenades in his pockets? And pulls transformers out of the woodwork? They're not even sure if this Sixshot guy is even an Autobot!"

"You may be right about Ryder," Gerin considered.

"About what?"

"He may just be an alien."

They had a good chortle after that.

"_This is boring the hell out of me," Allheart muttered, "Why do you even need to go to these stupid interviews anyway?"_

"_I SAID SHUT UP!"_

"But seriously," Gerin continued, "What do you think of him?"

"Well, when he isn't talking, he's alright."

Gerin smiled again. Marcus realised he could die looking at that smile.

"What about family?" Gerin asked, at length.

Marcus frowned.

"Why'd you have to do that?" he muttered, "You probably know better than anyone in this place about my family…"

"I know their dead, Marcus," Gerin said tactfully, "But life goes on… you go on. Please, tell me everything you can about them."

Marcus shifted uncomfortably in the leather recliner. "I… I never knew my father. He was probably some bastard who just used up women… my mum never mentioned him."

"And your mother…?"

"She died when I was about six," Marcus said quickly, "I have no brothers or sisters…"

"Tell me… tell me about your mother."

Marcus suddenly looked miserable. "She… she was great. All she ever did was smile… and hug. She always hugged me, when I went to bed, when I woke up, when I went to school, when I came back from school. She said that a hug was the best thing in the world…"

"How… how did she pass away?"

"She…" Marcus said, his voice cracking, "Cancer. The damn cancer… but do you know what the worst thing is?

"I was only allowed to see her once. Right as she went into hospital. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with her at first. But when they discovered it… I never saw her again. They didn't even tell me where she was buried…"

"A real Twist."

"Huh?"

"Marcus Twist. Ever read _Oliver Twist_?"

Marcus shook his head, trying to rub the embarrassing tears away.

"You poor boy," Gerin muttered, sympathetically, "I think we'll end it here for today… do you want anything?"

"N-No… thanks…"

Gerin stood up, went over to Marcus, and hugged him. Marcus, too surprised and too depressed to do anything else, just let her.

"It can get lonely here, sometimes," Gerin told him, "But if you have any worries, you can just come to me and we'll talk about it."

Marcus nodded, a solitary tear trickling down his cheek.

* * *

><p>"So where are you going?" Leo asked as Irving moved towards the taxi.<p>

"To track down this Harbinger," Irving replied, pushing his spectacles up his nose, "Timothy Dalton's supposedly in Thailand. That's where I'm heading."

Leo whistled while beside him Shanna said, "That's a long way away."

"I know. But I need to go. I need to wrap this whole thing up."

He got in the taxi and, with one last wave at the dreamy couple, was driven into the rainy day.

_Harbinger… the Decepticons want them. I want them. By the looks of things, only bloody HARP has no clue about these guys._

_I need to contact Dalton first. He's either an agent of Harbinger, or is him… and he silenced Gregory Thorpe. Goddamnit! That thing was a goddamn machine! And then Laserbeak… of course the Decepticons were tracking me, how could I be so goddamn stupid?_

He stared out the window at the drizzling rain, running down the window like tears.

_All roads lead to Dalton. And I must hurry… before the Decepticons get to him._

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" Fearswoop asked in confusion, looking at the hustling and bustling of many a Decepticon.<p>

"Bludgeon has grown bored," Shockwave uttered, "He is foolish; he will bring the fight to the Autobots."

"Actually…" Astrotrain murmured, "Why haven't we done that yet?"

"Because the satisfaction value would be… abysmal."

"Are you not entertained?" Fearswoop chuckled.

"No, Fearswoop. I am not."

"Who's going with him?" Astrotrain asked.

"He has already cajoled Lieutenants Thundercracker and Fracture in. If Thundercracker goes, Skywarp may as well. It does not matter anyway; we have work to do."

"Ah, yeah," Fearswoop muttered, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, "You know that meeting with that super-shady insect organisation? Yeah, well, seeing as I'm one of Starscream's legendary 'Seekers' still, I really should be getting back and getting my orders…"

Before Fearswoop could slink away, Shockwave grabbed the back of his neck. Astrotrain leered at him.

"Sorry," he snarled in an unforgiving tone, "But you're on loan."

Fearswoop gulped.

"Is he now?"

The three of them turned their heads to the rafters above. Hidden in the shadows, was Starscream.

"I don't remember you making that… transaction," he muttered.

"Commander Starscream!" Fearswoop exclaimed, relief flooding out the vents in his armour.

"We need him to help provide air support," Astrotrain explained, before adding an insulting, "Sir."

Starscream looked at him with all the benevolence of a turd.

"Do you really, Shockwave?" Starscream asked, ignoring his sycophantically loyal lieutenant.

"He is of imperative importance," Shockwave lied.

Astrotrain knew the real reason; there was a chance of Fearswoop dying on the planet below. Shockwave had already predicted that the Answerers would betray them and there was a good chance in the inevitable battle that if Fearswoop acted as a decoy, he would die. Not only would his death prevent his information of what happened with Space Case and Ruination to be divulged, but it would also weaken Starscream's corps; if Fearswoop died, he would only have four Seekers left.

"Fine then," Starscream consented, "But remember Shockwave; I'll be looking for you to pay back this 'loan'."

Shockwave nodded. Starscream disappeared from the rafters.

Shockwave turned to look at both of them.

"We are leaving."

* * *

><p>"So are you an Autobot?" Ratchet asked.<p>

"No. But I can be if you're looking to hire."

Sixshot was in one of the hangars, with an audience that consisted of the Autobots, General Mason, Kaminari Ishihara and Colonel Lennox. They circled him, as if interrogating him. Which, really, they were.

"An alien mercenary?" Kaminari asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sixshot shrugged. He looked bored.

"First off," Mason interceded, "Tell us what happened with those Decepticons."

"We were investigating a village out in Nevada; I had been tracking these drones for quite a while now, all the way from Alpha Centauri. Once we arrived in the village, we were attacked. We killed around twenty of them until Thundercracker arrived—"

"Wrong."

Everyone turned to look at one of the gantries. Ryder leaned over one of the railings, looking down on them all.

"HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?" Mason inevitably thundered, "I HAVE GUARDS POSTED AT EVERY ENTRANCE!"

"To be fair, your guards nearly spotted me," Ryder told him, "And they would have if they hadn't been practising writing their names with alphabetic spaghetti."

Sideswipe sniggered, but was silenced with a look from Ratchet.

"In fact, one of them chased me," Ryder informed, "But he tripped over his umbilical cord."

"What's wrong?" Lennox interrupted, trying to get back to the point at hand while trying not to chuckle.

"Sixshot's story," Ryder said, "The part where Thundercracker attacked us is wrong."

There was silence. Sixshot looked up at him.

"I didn't know those shades blinded you," Sixshot said, "I only thought they blocked out the sun, not everything."

"I saw well enough. And I remember that Thundercracker's arms turned into axes; why take one off his back?"

Sixshot frowned.

"Thundercracker was chasing us through Paris anyway!" Mirage remembered, "We held him off!"

There were murmurs of agreement. Sixshot scratched his head.

"Then it seems I was mistaken," he admitted, "But who was it then?"

"Someone who wants us to think that it was Thundercracker, I'd assume," Ryder assumed, "But in that case… why?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. No-one knew what to say.

"Optimus?" Ratchet finally reluctantly asked, "What do you think?"

Everyone turned their heads to the Autobot leader.

He sat away from the rest, staring at the floor. He had not really said or done anything since his return from Paris. No-one knew what had gone on in there, but if it shook Optimus, then it was something not worth bringing up.

He didn't even look up when Ratchet asked. He just kept staring at the floor.

Shockingly, it was General Mason who came to his rescue. "Right now, I couldn't care less about any new cybertronian faction; I WANT THESE GUYS OUTTA HERE!"

He pointed at the Wreckers and Sgt Recon, all of whom stared angrily back.

"Hey!" Leadfoot cried, "We saved Optimus's ass! And you're kicking us out?"

"YOU FOUR NEAR-STARTED A WAR IN A MIDDLE-EASTERN COUNTRY!" Mason roared, "YOU BROKE OUT OF A UNITED NATIONS JAIL!"

"We didn't like it there," Recon admitted, shrugging.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL OPINION!" Mason continued, increasing in volume, "I WANT YOU OFF THE BASE RIGHT NOW! BY THE AUTHORITY INVESTED IN ME BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND OF THE WHOLE WORLD, _I EXILE YOU FOUR FROM EARTH__!_"

There was stunned silence all around. No-one spoke or moved. The Wreckers glowered at General Mason, who glowered back.

The silence was permeated by a loud bleeping noise. Ratchet immediately ran over to a console.

"Decepticon signal!" Ratchet cried, "I recognise this one; it's Fearswoop. He escaped from Diego Garcia… and now he's in Ohio!"

There was a loud clanging noise. Everyone turned.

Optimus struck his keyblade into the ground and raised his head.

"We're moving," he thundered, "Sixshot, this is a chance to prove your loyalty. Wreckers, we'll discuss this after the battle."

No-one dared argue, yet Mason glowered even more.

"Let's go," finished Optimus.

* * *

><p>A factory district. Much like any other.<p>

Huge buildings held narrow chimneys, from which smoke hadn't risen in many years. Pipes twisted this way and that around warehouses, some as thin as an arm, others able to hold a bus. A disused railway ran alongside the district, the wood broken and the metal weak.

"Where is he?" Rickon muttered, glancing at his watch, "Why is he late?"

_This isn't going well. I can't trust Cunningham in reserve and my men are all newbies… why does he have to be late of all things? Fucking Decepticons…_

"He could be having engine trouble," Rickon's lack-wit lieutenant said.

_Engine trouble? We're not talking about cars you dumb shit!_

"I highly doubt that's the reason," Rickon muttered.

"Pardon sir?"

"I said I doubt that's the reason."

"Oh… what could be the problem then, sir?"

_He could be executing your entire family, so that you may never breed._

"Getting together the weapons may take a while. We wait."

But they didn't have to wait long.

A distant roaring was heard, but inevitably came closer and closer. Rickon nervously jiggled his leg; a habit he performed when he was nervous, and checked his pistol was at his side, for all the good it did him.

They heard the thunder in the clouds.

Then, with a sudden shock, the Decepticon simply dropped down from the clouds and slammed into the ground in front of them. Rickon swore he could hear his men yelling inside their own heads… or that could have just been him.

The Decepticon was yellow, built for air combat, with beady red optics staring at them all.

"Uh, you Astrotrain?" Rickon asked, taking the initiative.

"Yep," Fearswoop lied, "100% Astrotrain." He pulled a large container from within him and placed it down in front of him.

"So," Fearswoop continued, "Now listen guys; I don't like violence. I'm a businessman; blood is a big expense."

"A-Are the weapons in there?" Rickon asked, his leg turning into a schizophrenic.

"Of course," Fearswoop chuckled, and pressed a button on the side of the container.

It transformed, compartments twisting in on one another, before it was no longer a container at all. It was a weapons rack, with guns as small as pistols and cannons as long as artillery shells. The soldiers looked at it with appraising eyes.

"So then," Fearswoop muttered nervously, "Here's to an alliance between the Decepticons and the Answerers!"

"Oh yes," Rickon uttered, "Here's to an… everlasting friendship."

Upon the code-word, false walls and fake buildings fell apart. Many more soldiers with much more equipment were revealed.

"Oh for—" Fearswoop cried in alarm, attempting to take off, but far too late.

Harpoons attached to titanium nets slammed into Fearswoop, trapping him down to the floor. Electrical currents ran through him and he screamed with pain.

A train could be heard in the distance.

With another shockwave of electricity, Fearswoop was knocked into stasis lock.

"Right then," Rickon said gleefully, rubbing his hands together, "Tag 'im and bag 'im!"

"Uh, sir?" his lieutenant said softly.

"What is it?" Rickon snapped as his men moved in to recover the unconscious Fearswoop.

"That railway's been out of service for years…"

The train _choo-choo_ed across the factory district.

"So?" Rickon asked, failing to comprehend his much more intelligent lieutenant's meaning.

"What's that sound, sir…?"

Rickon perked his ears up. He frowned.

"Well, it can't be—"

It could. With a triumphant howl of glee, Astrotrain leaped a huge pipe and smashed through an Answerer jeep.

Rickon and his soldiers suddenly found themselves hostages, Astrotrain pointing a variety of weapons at them.

"Are you alive?" he snarled with pleasure, "How does it feel to be alive? SHOW ME!"

The soldiers, with the exception of Rickon, dropped their weapons, raised their hands and sobbed in the face of this metal titan. He glowered at them.

"Cowards," he hissed, before turning to the Decepticon. "Surely there must be some mistake!" he cried.

"The only mistake here is the one you've made," Astrotrain uttered, "Attempted capture of a Decepticon soldier… that's punishable by death."

"Do you want to know why we captured him?" Rickon pouted, bluffing to save his life, "It's because he lied; he claimed to be Astrotrain, which is no doubt who you are."

"Oh?" Astrotrain said, his interest piqued, "Are you saying you know who this truly is?" He pointed at Fearswoop.

Rickon cast his mind back through hundreds of briefings and research, pouring over images of transformer after transformer. His mind finally settled on a name.

"Space Case," Rickon said triumphantly, hoping with all his might that it was correct, "I remember from an old file; this is Space Case."

There was silence for a while. Then a horrible, guttural sound rang through the air. With horror, Rickon realised it was Astrotrain; laughing.

"You have a good memory, human," Astrotrain chuckled, "So I assume that you wish to continue our meeting?"

Relief flooded through everyone around Rickon, including the man himself, who couldn't believe that he had picked the right name.

_God must be on my side, _he thought, _These guys have such lousy names…_

"Hang on!" Astrotrain suddenly cried, trying with all his might not to laugh. Everyone was immediately on edge, the soldiers stiffening.

"Did you say Space Case," Astrotrain said with a grin, "Or Fearswoop?

Another terrifying silence stretched out. Rickon gulped.

_He's testing me! His name must be Space Case… or Fearswoop. Damn it! If I answer the wrong one… does it even matter? He could just lie… may as well go for it._

"I said Space Case," Rickon exclaimed with authority, "I didn't realise our newfound allies were so deaf."

There were a few nervous chuckles all around. But Astrotrain gave a grin that silenced them all.

"Wrong answer," he chuckled, and squashed Rickon's lieutenant underfoot.

And that's when HARP arrived.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, but Harbinger has designated you disposable."<p>

Leo slammed the door. It burst open, sending him smashing into the carpet.

The man dressed in black stood there.

"SHANNA!" Leo screamed, "GET OUT!"

A bullet smashed into his knee, spraying blood and bone everywhere. Leo screamed, as another bullet passed through his throat. A final shot silenced him for good.

Something cracked over the back of the man's head. He whirled around, as Shanna smashed the umbrella against the man's hand. The gun went spinning away.

The man grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the ground; his grip was iron, pressuring and crushing.

"Where is Randall Irving?" the man asked in a monotonous voice.

Shanna spat in his face. The man removed his fedora, revealing his face.

Shanna screamed.

And with a _snap_, was silenced.

* * *

><p>Optimus charged forward and slammed his keyblade down upon Astrotrain, who had the sense and reflexes to leap out the way, a second early.<p>

The humans scattered, but some were quickly brought down by HARP soldiers.

"They're working with the Decepticons!" Lennox exclaimed, realising the truth.

"Kill them all," Optimus uttered.

The stunned silence lasted only a nanosecond, as Optimus brought down another blow atop a retreating Astrotrain. Then the real fighting began.

Gunshots rang out across the district, the agents of the Answerers fighting the soldiers of HARP, the Autobots converging on both them and Astrotrain, while Fearswoop snored in ignorance.

"'Kill them all'?" Astrotrain gloated as he backed away, "That's a bit dark for you, isn't it Optimus?"

Optimus coldly continued his attack, the blade swinging, Astrotrain dodging. Mirage launched in.

"BASTARD!" Mirage roared, swinging both blades around, to which Astrotrain dodged again.

"Well, well," Astrotrain uttered, "Look whose back among the living."

Sideswipe leapt over both the Autobots and brought his blade down. Astrotrain rolled back and hit Sideswipe with a missile as he travelled over the railway.

"It's hardly in your line, is it?" Astrotrain taunted Optimus, "Where in the Prime's bible of honour does it say anything about slaying fleeing insects?"

Optimus roared again and this time connected. Astrotrain's left arm was sheared off at the elbow in a vain attempt to block Optimus's inexorable assault.

Astrotrain fell to the ground, whimpering, as soldiers around him died.

Optimus, without a word, raised the keyblade for the finishing blow.

"Stop this idiocy."

Everyone turned.

Upon a warehouse roof, stood Shockwave.

* * *

><p>Rickon stumbled through the factory workings, clutching a bullet wound in his stomach.<p>

_Shit, fucking shit…_

Finally, he found himself in the company of men he knew.

Tanks and other assorted armoured vehicles surrounded him. He looked up and saw Commander Cunningham looking down.

"My friends…" Rickon murmured, smiling weakly.

"Friends?" Cunningham said with a grimace, "That's not begging hard enough."

Before Rickon could even utter a word of protest, Cunningham drew a pistol and shot him five times in the chest. Rickon slumped to the ground, a puddle of blood gathering around him.

"We're not walking into a robot stomping match," Cunningham growled, "Everyone, let's go."

And as one, they all packed up and left. The tanks rumbled out of their hiding places, helicopters turned for home.

Soon, Rickon's corpse was all that was left.

* * *

><p>"Shockwave," Optimus uttered.<p>

"Prime," Shockwave noted, "Stop this fighting."

"Why should we?" Sideswipe spat, grabbing the whimpering Astrotrain by the throat.

"Because you will die, otherwise," Shockwave informed him, "More of these humans are on the way and I assume you don't want a fully-fledged battle on your hands… with humans."

Mirage looked up at the creature that almost killed him. "How can we tell you're not lying?" he snarled.

"I have not lied… ever," Shockwave intoned, his voice growing with thunder, "Doubt me now and suffer for it. But I will be leaving with what is mine."

As if on cue, Fearswoop awoke from a pleasant sleep, before remembering his predicament.

"Shockwave!" he cried, "Help!"

"However," Shockwave uttered, "You can keep him."

"WHAT?"

"Would you consider that… fair, Optimus?" Shockwave continued, "An insidious human organisation discovered and a Decepticon prisoner to boot. Make your decision… quickly."

Optimus's optics were glazed over with hate. He raised a large rifle in defiance, pointing it up at where Shockwave stood. The Decepticon did not move an inch, like a statue.

Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Ratchet," Optimus growled, "We're coming home."

One after one, soldier after soldier disappeared.

"We'll be seeing you again," Leadfoot hissed at Shockwave, before he vanished.

Sideswipe's grip on Astrotrain slackened and disappeared.

Mirage spat on the ground as he went too.

Fearswoop moaned as he followed.

"This isn't over," Optimus muttered, but was gone as well.

Then, only Shockwave and Astrotrain remained.

"Can you still fly?" Shockwave asked.

Astrotrain nodded, grabbing his dismembered arm.

"Then get out."

Shockwave disappeared into a light of his own.

But Astrotrain didn't fly off. Instead, he lay back down on the railway track.

_That was too close, _he realised, _The closest yet. What in Primus's name is Shockwave playing at?_

But Astrotrain knew that if he wasn't loyal, he was disloyal. And being disloyal almost certainly meant death.

In the end, with the sirens much nearer, Astrotrain picked himself up and began to walk down the railway, an arm in a hand.

* * *

><p>"What the hell was that?" Arcee asked angrily when they returned, "Humans? 'Answerers'? And… we just butchered them."<p>

"They were working with the Decepticons," Optimus replied, his voice expressionless, "If the Decepticons are to be destroyed, so must their allies."

Many were taken aback by this proclamation, but not Arcee.

"But they were fighting the Decepticons!" she argued, "That was no alliance!"

"It was an attempt at an alliance. If such foolish idiots wish to ally themselves with the Decepticons, then they must die," Optimus told her.

Arcee took a step back. "This isn't like you, Optimus."

"I know," Optimus coldly replied, "Because now I've seen the truth Arcee. We are all alike, cybertronians and humans… if they ally with us, then they will be safe. But if they join with the Decepticons and threaten us… and Earth, then they must be eradicated."

Optimus walked to the hangar exit, shocked faces following his every step.

A small figure moved to block his way.

Optimus hesitated a second, before simply stepping over him.

"What the hell happened in Paris?" Lennox asked, angrier than Optimus had ever seen him, "Just what the hell happened?"

"Something I do not wish to discuss ever again," Optimus told him sombrely, outpacing the much smaller human.

"Optimus!"

The Prime stopped. He turned around.

"What are we to you?" Lennox asked, "Pets? Vassals? Allies? Or are we just in the way?"

"To me…" Optimus said, "You are humans. Some are good, some are bad. Some are just, some are unjust. But you all have one thing in common… your want for attention. Whether it be through good or bad deeds, you only strive for more fame. Ranks, respect… even a picture from a camera is enough to get you recognised, no matter how little it is."

"Optimus," Lennox sighed, "You can spell out a philosophy or give a revealing speech… but, really, it's all about protecting innocent people. Look around you; all the people here want to do is to just protect everyone. Be cold, be reclusive… but remember what you fight for. Fight for us. Fight for all of us."

But Optimus didn't acknowledge him and continued on.

"There's a war coming," Lennox whispered to himself, "And it's a fool who thinks we'll survive it."

* * *

><p><strong>2 Days later…<strong>

"Well, looks like we're back at the start," Leadfoot muttered.

The Empty Quarter stretched out before them, sand in all directions.

"On the run again," Recon muttered, "And no Autobots to shelter us. Instead, they're part of the hunting crew."

"What an ironic tale," Topspin spat in dismissiveness, "Oh well, what now?"

There was silence. The four Wreckers looked around.

"I heard there's a new dictator in town," Roadbuster remembered, "We could stir up some trouble for him."

There was silence. No-one could decide on whether to agree or disagree.

"What's that?" Leadfoot asked.

He was pointing out into the desert. A strange silhouette stood on the horizon.

Recon covered his eyes from the sun. "A rock?"

"Maybe…" Leadfoot muttered, "Let's go find out."

It turned out to be, well, a rock.

Some thirty-feet high, with a darkened cave, this red rock towered over the three transformers and the human.

"This sun's boring me," Leadfoot grunted, "I'm going in."

"Hey, wait!" Recon said, "There's something wrong…"

"It's a cave," Topspin replied dismissively, "There's nothing wrong with a cave."

Leadfoot waddled in. He was immediately lost to shadows.

"Hey!" he cried from inside, "It goes down, deeper!"

Topspin followed his friend in. But as Roadbuster moved to go in as well, Recon touched him on the foot.

"Listen, mate," Recon muttered, "I've got a real bad feeling about this…"

Roadbuster shrugged. "What harm is the shade? Come in under the shadow of this red rock; there's nothing wrong with it!"

He followed the other two Wreckers inside.

Recon was left alone, looking at the red rock. He looked up.

A clear, blue sky. A flat, yellow desert.

And a lone, red rock.

Reluctantly, he followed them in.

He would never, ever leave.

* * *

><p>"You know what I see when I look at you? Idiots."<p>

That got their attention. You can't get attention with wise words (which would be ignored), promises (which would be doubted) and threats (which would just irk their ire). But degradation… ah. Bludgeon knew how to use degradation.

"I see idiots," he growled, "Jabbering Reverb and foolish Overcast. Mad Mindwipe and thick Tankor. None of you know anything about conquest or command, power or glory… idiots. Thick, drivelling idiots. Wandering through a monotonous life within the bowls of this black ship… never even glancing at the world for which you came to claim. YOU ARE DECEPTICONS! ACT LIKE THEM!"

"You tell us to act like Decepticons, yet what are you doing?" Lieutenant Skywarp arrogantly argued. There were mutters of agreement throughout the hold.

"I am here to raise you up!" Bludgeon cried, "For you have been down for far too long. For it is the cons who hold high places who must be the ones to mould a new reality… a reality in which you rule as well as any of us!"

"And how do you plan to achieve this noble goal?" Skywarp sneered to several chortles.

Bludgeon looked down on him with a steely glare. Skywarp looked away, uncomfortable.

"By pillaging Earth," Bludgeon answered.

And suddenly every optic was on Bludgeon, listening to every word now like a disciple of his teachings.

"We had a dream once," Bludgeon murmured, "Peace through tyranny. How ideal, how beautiful. And it was beautiful, in its simplicity… but now it's gone sour. We chased pointless objects across the cosmos for centuries, forgetting our past and our motives as we went along, always losing sight of the goal… and now, we have arrived. But nothing is left. No Allspark, no Star Harvester… nothing. Space, this final frontier, beat us to it. So why not carve out a frontier of our own?"

He climbed a few more pieces of debris, looking down at them all. The Decepticons were enraptured.

"You are the Decepticon army!" he cried out to all of them, his voice rising in tempo and thunder, "A once proud and baleful faction, driven down by time and space! Win back the power and the glory, stolen from you with time's passing! Take the Earth, take it all, wipe out all you can! FOR THE POWER LIES WITH YOU, AND YOU MUST USE IT AS YOU WILL! SACK EARTH, AND RULE AS KINGS!"

The Decepticons roared their support and punched the air. They were yelling with agreement and consent, each one baying their support.

Bludgeon pointed up towards the stars. "THERE LIES THE GALAXY! ONE PLANET AT A TIME, STARTING WITH THE INSECT WORLD!"

The roaring reached a fever pitch.

"Now…" he muttered, "LET'S RIDE!"

Shooting up from the _Ark_, the Decepticons fled the ship like insects, buzzing around as they left the moon. They screamed towards the Earth, glittering shapes in the black of night.

"FOLLOW ME!" Bludgeon bellowed, "TAKE WHAT YOU WILL AND DEMOLISH THE REST!"

Together, they descended on Earth, the hunger for blood at a starving pitch.

Bludgeon's skull mask grinned as it burned through the atmosphere.

And Megatron sat on his throne, all alone, chuckling.


	25. Bludgeoned to Death Part 1

Thanks, as always, to **Megan666,** **Mytical-Mist-Devil **and (newly arriving) **wacko12**!

* * *

><p>A black mountain at his back, family to the front.<p>

_One I want, one I must go with._

"My ladies," Lennox exclaimed, raising his arms in the air, "Anna, you're getting bigger every time I see you!"

The small child giggled. "Daddy!" she cried happily.

"Hey sweetie," Sarah, his wife, said with a smile, "What's it been now… two weeks?"

"The connection here is worse than Diego Garcia," Lennox replied, "Setting up this stuff has been a nightmare."

The webcam sat atop the laptop, two blurry pictures of Lennox's family coming through. But it was them… and that's all that mattered.

"Daddy, when are you coming home?"

Lennox's heart ached. Sarah's face lost its smile.

"It's been four months," she said miserably, "I know that's nowhere near long enough for a tour of duty… but we miss you Will. We really do."

_One I want, one I must go with._

"Listen," Lennox told her, "Everyone's got a feeling that the sh… stuff is going to hit the fan any day now. And we need to be on the frontlines…"

Sarah looked down, trying not to cry. Annabelle's bottom lip wobbled.

"Girls!" Lennox cried, confused, "After this next operation, I promise I'll do all I can to see about coming home early… don't worry! The Autobots have never been stronger and better prepared… although Optimus has gone off the rails a bit…"

"Optimus? Along with Robert, he's been your best friend for the past five years!"

"I know," Lennox sighed, "And I'm going to see what I can do about him. I need to help clear his head a bit, help him remember the good old days…"

"Were they ever good?"

Lennox smiled. "Only when I was with you two."

The picture fractured, splitting apart like ripples in a pond.

"…Will…?"

"I'm losing connection," Lennox told them hurriedly, "Don't worry, I'll be home soon!"

"I love you daddy!" came Annabelle's lovely voice.

"I love you too, sweetie," Lennox said with a sad smile.

"I love you more!" And then the connection was out.

Lennox sighed, closed the laptop and looked behind him.

Across the base, the Topaz Mountain looked down on him.

_One I want, one I must go with._

_Family… and duty._

* * *

><p><span>Episode 25: Bludgeoned to Death (Part 1)<span>

_You watch the world exploding every single night  
>Dancing in the sun, the new-born in the light<br>Say goodbye to gravity and say goodbye to death  
>Heaven to eternity; I live for every breath!<em>

—**The Wicker Man**

* * *

><p><strong>Interview Session #2: The past that builds the present.<strong>

"Good evening," Gerin said as Marcus entered, "Take a seat or couch."

Marcus lay back down on the couch, the same way he had done last time. He stared up at the ceiling, déjà vu all over again.

"Now, Marcus," Gerin murmured, peering at her clipboard, "I need to make an analysis of your psyche origins. Although the death of your mother has a huge part in your psyche history, it's your life after that that determines what it will turn into."

Marcus nodded, pretending he understood.

Gerin smiled. "In other words, I need to understand as much as possible about your past."

"You mean at the orphanage?" Marcus asked, "That place was a shithole, but—"

"Watch your language!" Gerin exclaimed, "Those sort of words might be accepted outside of this room, but not in here."

Marcus hung his head in shame, but Gerin quickly rallied her sympathetic smile. "That might have been a bit harsh, and the orphanage may have been… prickly, but that—"

"'Prickly'?" Marcus echoed, "It was a pig sty!"

"Explain why."

Marcus took a deep breath and began the tale of Paradiso Orphanage.

"_Right in the face!" Chao laughed._

_Gibson peered over Marcus's limp body._

"_Ain't that a kick in the teeth?"_

"As soon as I entered, I knew it was hell on Earth," Marcus muttered, "The other kids stared at me like I was condemned. Each one seemed like he wanted to gut me and take what little stuff I had."

"And what happened in the first few days?"

"One of them tried to gut me and steal what little stuff I had," Marcus muttered bitterly, "I woke with him right on my face. I saw his knife and kicked and screamed… and he was gone. I still don't know who did it.

"Everyone shunned me, kids bullied me, but none were as bad as Gibson. A snotty, rat-faced little punk who spent every waking hour of his life trying to hound me into a grave. I know bullies are a cliché, but this was one git who just wouldn't stop. I don't even know what I did to piss him off."

"That's the problem with humans," Gerin muttered, "The problem with us; we're rather evil at heart."

"Really?" Marcus asked, shocked.

"It's much easier to lose control than it is to keep it," Gerin said sagely, "Humans… and cybertronians for that matter, are all rather narcissistic in the soul, taking joy from inflicting pain on someone else. It's nature. The strong must always prove they're strong and they can only do that in cowardice by preying on the weak. But, then again, that bully had lost his mother and father, same as you… so it's no wonder that to hide his inner loneliness, he would use it to strike out."

Marcus considered this for all of three seconds before concluding; "He was still a real piece of work."

Gerin sighed, her lesson lost. "I suppose he was."

"Anyhow, every day at both school and at the orphanage, I was bullied. Mostly by Gibson, but others when he wasn't around. So I tried to find ways to escape… books, at first, but they were always interrupted. So I took to exploring…"

"_Hey, come back! Get over here, Twist!"_

_Chao laughed after him, tears flying from Marcus's face, blood running from his mouth._

_Unsatisfied with the damage caused, Gibson gave chase._

"The area around the orphanage was in disrepair," Marcus continued, "And I found this open manhole…"

Gerin wrinkled her nose.

"The sewers weren't that bad, once you got used to the smell. But you had to keep a close eye on the slime unless you wanted a dunking.

"I soon read by the emergency lighting in there, uninterrupted, unbothered. It was great, but when I returned I always got bullied more thanks to the smell. Gibson cut me a few times, always taking it too far…"

"That does sound like hell," Gerin muttered, rather astonished. "Wasn't there any staff to stop it?"

Marcus gave her a 'When have staff ever stopped bullying anywhere in the world?' look. It was rather complex.

"Alright, stupid question," Gerin admitted, "But did you ever escape the bullying?"

Marcus looked up at the ceiling. "Yes," he whispered dismally.

_He leapt down the manhole, knowing Gibson wouldn't follow him._

"_You think you can hide from me, you little fucking rat?"_

_Gibson followed._

"One day, things get out of hand," Marcus muttered, "I stood up to Gibson, which lost me some teeth. Another kid was there, Chao, who always laughed like a hyena. I escaped into the sewers… but for the first time, Gibson followed."

"And what happened then?"

"_I'll fuck you up, you little—"_

_Marcus heard the splash… and the current._

"I… I don't know," Marcus whispered, "I hid in the darkness and waited for what seemed like days. When I eventually returned to the orphanage… I learned that Gibson hadn't."

"_Help!" he cried, scrambling at the slimy sides as the murky current drew him away, "I can't swim, help, HELP!"_

"The police interviewed me and everything and they searched everywhere… but he was never found. They went down into the sewers to find him… but they never did.

"From then on, I was never bothered again. The kids assumed I murdered him, caused him to go 'missing'. Although I was left in peace… I was lonely. I had no-one to talk to and no-one wanted to talk to me.

"And that's when Stacy arrived."

Gerin smiled.

"She was quiet when she came and was quickly bullied like I was. At the time, I honestly couldn't have cared less. As long as I wasn't a target, everything was alright…"

"But she was smart. She quickly realised that I was untouched and so came to me to read as well. At first I was nervous of her; she never spoke, not once. She just sat next to me and read. It was like that for a while, the two of us reading without exchanging a word… and then she spoke for the first time."

"What'd she say?"

"'Did you really kill Gibson?' I swear, I'll remember those words until the day I die."

"And your answer was…?"

"No, of course!" Marcus exclaimed, "I… I didn't murder him. He might still even be alive…"

_He stepped out of the shadows and saw him being carried down the river of filth…_

"_HELP MARCUS, PLEASE! PLEASE HELP!"_

"Me and Stacy were friends forever after that," Marcus said, "We read and played together, ventured into the sewers, mapped out nearly the whole of the city…"

"And then?"

"Well… war happened!"

"War?"

"Yeah!" Marcus exclaimed, "The Battle of Mission City. Autobots vs. Decepticons, round 1! I never saw it, but I sure as hell heard. We were told to lie under our beds until the fighting stopped. One of the old staff members, Mrs Cletchin, started screaming. 'Those damn commies! They're back!' I was too scared to laugh.

"After it was over, it just sort of disappeared. The news barely mentioned it, blaming a military experiment gone wrong… but we all knew different. We heard the roaring, the laughing, the explosions… we knew it was aliens."

"It was confirmed when a new member of staff came in; Ron. He quickly established himself as a big-shot with the kids, due to his ties with the criminal underworld… and the fact he had a video of Optimus and Megatron smashing each other to bits."

"Everyone watched that video half to death. We were hypnotised by it, me and Stacy. We couldn't stop thinking about these awesome giant aliens, Optimus and Megatron. The epic fight, the explosions… and we had been just a mile away!"

"And then Rob starting hiring us. The older kids were sent out to do drug deals with people around the blocks. He bought the product, gave it to the kids, spread them out, sold it and gave them a share of the profits. But he quickly realised we had potential.

"We owned everything beneath the city. He saw us as being able to avoid cops and crowds and sent us out to do deals with buyers. 'My little guttersnipes,' he would always call us. I still don't know what a guttersnipe is.

"In return for our services, he told the other kids to stop being nasty to us and gave us a few crap books. But that was life… and it was manageable. We learned more of the Autobots and Decepticons after Egypt and Chicago, first contact seeming so utterly brilliant. We both had a dream; to meet with Optimus Prime and his legion of courageous Autobots."

"It looks like that dream came true," Gerin said with a heart-warming smile.

"And I thank whatever gods out there made it happen," Marcus replied, smiling, "But the next thing you know, we find a strange dude in a longcoat in the sewers, find the Allspark shard and hey presto; we're in the middle of a war!"

Gerin sighed. "I wish you weren't so excited for it. Real people are dying out here…"

"I know," Marcus said, losing his smile, "But… this is so much better. Surrounded by the soldiers who protect the whole world, while helping them with my visions. It's almost… too good."

"Sometimes people don't learn the truth until too late," Gerin said, "And then you can't go back."

"You can always go back," Marcus argued, "You just got to have courage!"

"It's not a matter of courage. It's a matter of dreams."

"Dreams?" Marcus wondered.

"One day you'll find out. But let me just ask you one last question before we conclude this interview…"

"Alright."

"In which time were you happiest; here, the orphanage or with your mother?"

Marcus frowned. He thought, long and hard.

"I… even though Stacy is wonderful and the Autobots are awesome… I would have to say with my mother."

Gerin smiled so brightly then, her teeth almost shone with radiance. "That's brilliant, Marcus!"

"How?"

"It proves you're still sane. You have nothing to be worried about!"

Marcus was stunned for a second. Then he smiled back.

_And as he watched, Gideon floated away, his last cries haunting his mind to this day…_

"_I'm sorry, Marcus! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!_

"_I'm sorry…! I mean it, I'm sorry…!"_

"…_I'm… sorry…!"_

_And then he was lost beneath the rushing mire._

* * *

><p>The advent festivities! Oh, what wonder!<p>

Christmas was upon happy shoppers, just a couple of days away. Snow fell about everyone, in which children played and laughed. Traffic jams were in full flow, yellow cabs packed next to each other, carrying lost and confused tourists to the many hotels scattered around the city.

The Big Apple was not red. It was white.

Central Park, huge and vast, held icy lakes without a single duck upon them. Romantic walks, all covered in coats and woolly hats, while the NYPD choir belted out 'Galway Bay'. Not an inch of green grass was spared the snow. The legendary Empire State Building was packed, hundreds of people waiting in line to see the tremendous view and take it all in. Ground Zero seemed even chillier and even more haunted in the white, but many years on left the memories a simple depressing or angry stain on ignorant, blissful minds.

Malls were ablaze with lighting and Christmas songs, while cheery faced Santas gave audience to the little children. They asked to receive, greedy for presents and so happy with the laughable, false-bearded, charitable men.

December was cold, but full of cheer. But one of those two was about to disappear forever. Something to make past destruction within the city seem like a firework, compared to the firestorm about to arrive.

In silence, in eerie calm, Bludgeon climbed atop a pier on the north coast of Queens.

Behind him, Overload crawled on as well. Across Manhattan, Union City, Queens and the other districts, they climbed into the city.

"Decepticons," Bludgeon uttered, "Spare none."

The destruction of New York City began.

* * *

><p>"I don't believe it," Fearswoop muttered, "That I'm back here."<p>

"I wouldn't complain," Bumblebee shot back, "Optimus is on the warpath. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to execute you."

Fearswoop suddenly shut up, preferring to glower at Bumblebee.

Bumblebee, having nothing better to do, glowered back.

Each cybertronian stared at the other, hate and hurt within each other's eyes. But whereas Bumblebee's were filled with cold fury, Fearswoop's were alight with perverse amusement.

Eventually, Fearswoop turned away and began to chuckle. Bumblebee glared.

"And what's so funny?" he asked, menacingly.

Fearswoop looked back. "You wouldn't get it."

"Try me."

Fearswoop grinned. "Space Case and Ruination," he chuckled, "Powerful beyond all measure. They told me to stick with the strongest and I would survive. Yet when I left them, I survived… and they died. Oh, irony's so beautiful!"

Bumblebee shook his head as Fearswoop chortled. "You have a sick mind, Decepticon creep."

"We all have," Fearswoop retorted, "I just choose to unleash mine."

An alarm blared out.

"A hit," Bumblebee muttered, "It seems your friends are very active."

"They're as much my friends as they are yours."

Ratchet came running in and checked a huge console in the side of the hangar.

"Four… five… twelve… by Primus, there's near a hundred!" he exclaimed.

Bumblebee leapt to his feet. "They don't have a hundred!" he argued, "Your machine must be broken…"

"Drones!" Ratchet exclaimed, "I didn't realise they had built a drone army…"

"We'll destroy them anyway."

Optimus stood in the doorway, optics ablaze.

"Where are they?" he continued.

"…Optimus, it's New York."

Bumblebee grimaced but Fearswoop laughed.

"There'll be more casualties then you can count on an abacus!" he guffawed.

Optimus strode towards his forcefield. Fearswoop realised too late the mistake he'd made.

The forcefield dropped and Fearswoop scrambled up against the wall. Optimus drew a keyblade.

"No, no, please," Fearswoop begged, "It was just a joke… just a harmless little joke…"

"This'll just be a cut," Optimus promised in return, "A harmless little cut."

With a downward stroke, Optimus sliced off Fearswoop's right arm, causing him to scream in pain.

"OPTIMUS!"

The two Autobots turned.

Colonel Lennox stood in the hangar doorway.

"What's the meaning of this?" he thundered.

Optimus drew away the keyblade. He bowed his head in shame.

"I… I was not thinking straight…"

"Not thinking straight?" Lennox almost laughed with the sheer ridiculousness of the defence, "You've chopped his bloody arm off! You attacked a defenceless prisoner!"

Optimus glowered at him. "I'll deal with my prisoners how I want… you'll deal with yours. But I believe we should discuss this matter another time; we have work to do."

Lennox stared at Optimus in disbelief. "Fine then. Let's wrap this thing up in New York, then we'll talk…"

Optimus nodded, but Lennox only glared and walked out.

"Ratchet!" Lennox shouted, "Get the Pillars ready!"

And the Topaz Mountain saw it all. Cunningham licked his lips.

* * *

><p>The small, dirty plane slowed to a halt on the dusty airstrip. The sun laughed down on HARP Thailand, beating every living creature into submission with the near unbearable humidity. But this didn't stop Randall Irving, who stepped down into the sauna, casting his hand over his face to protect his eyes.<p>

"Sir!" a young private called, coming up to meet him. Irving almost laughed. He had never been called 'sir' before; he didn't even have a rank.

"I need to speak with your commander," Irving told him at once, "About Timothy Dalton."

The private looked at Irving, quite confused.

"Sir…" the private said, "Timothy Dalton is the base commander."

That stopped Irving in his tracks. Out of all the things he expected, hearing that was the least of it.

"When was the last time he was in the base?" Irving asked hurriedly.

And then the private said something that changed everything.

"He's here now, sir. In the hospital to be exact."

Irving was stunned. And then a growing uneasiness took over him.

"Why?"

"He had a terrible accident this morning… the doctors say that his sight will never recover. In the meantime, Major Deng is in charge…"

But Irving had pushed past him and was striding towards the large building with a red cross.

_Timothy Dalton… we will meet at last._

_It's time to discover who Harbinger really is._

* * *

><p>"Optimus!" Mason cried, "We're getting a lot of traffic from New York! There's blood running in the streets!"<p>

"The Pillars will be up in five minutes!" Ratchet called back.

Orders were swapped around, as soldiers loaded up on gear and ammo. Computers buzzed and whirred as Ratchet and Kaminari Ishihara worked to their fullest to get the Pillars up and running. Most of the soldiers stood by, waiting nervously.

"Their first taste of action," Ryder sighed, "Shame they won't survive it."

"Have you ever said anything nice in your life?" Marcus asked.

"Once. The guy I said it to thought I was mocking him; he attacked me. I stopped saying nice things after that."

"Why not keep quiet for once?"

"Have you seen me? I look as stoic as a jumping bean. You going with them?"

"I'd rather not get caught up in a fully-fledged battle again," Marcus muttered, "My spear isn't exactly a Decepticon killing tool."

"I am," Ryder replied, "But I owe some guys money in New York. I'd rather not meet them again."

"They're probably no longer alive…"

"Now look who's speaking negatively," Stacy pointed out, "Why is everyone such a misery guts?"

"Because people keep dying," Ryder said, "Shame, that."

Marcus yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"I swear you're not getting enough sleep, Marcus," Stacy sighed, "Is it those nightmares again?"

"Sort of," he muttered.

"_Hehehe," Allheart chuckled, a hundred razor-sharp teeth flashing in the dark._

Marcus yawned again.

Suddenly, the hangar was bathed in blue light.

"We're up and running!" Kaminari called, "We've got a location in East Harlem!"

"Let's go!" Lennox cried, and the soldiers of HARP charged towards the blue light.

Optimus strode forward as well, followed by Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Mirage, Arcee and Sixshot.

"And now," Ryder muttered, "The Battle for New York begins."

* * *

><p>Bloodbath. Nothing more than a bloodbath. You could literally bathe in the fluids that coated the streets.<p>

Burnt and blackened bodies littered the northern part of 2nd Avenue, wrecked cars and rubble covering the rest. They were red. Red and black; not a shade of grey was visible. It was more akin to ruins in a third world country; not the soul of the United States of America.

"Why?" Epps muttered as he looked around the destroyed street, "Why here…?"

"To send a message," Optimus muttered, "To call us out."

"Well, it worked," Lennox whispered, accidentally crushing an ashen skull underfoot.

"Megatron will pay for this," Mirage muttered.

"If it is Megatron," Bumblebee hissed, "It could well have been Shockwave."

"We'll find out when we blow his head off," Lennox interrupted, pulling out a street map, "Now, we're here, in East Harlem. The largest reports of Decepticon activity are coming from Manhattan, down here… so we're heading south."

"Don't we get any support, sir?" asked an FNG by the name of Lieutenant Henderson.

"Rangers are moving up from Elizabeth in Jersey," Lennox answered, "While the Sixth Armoured is coming down from Mount Vernon."

"Vernon?" Epps asked incredulously, "That's behind us! And Elizabeth may as well be in China!"

"Then we best get moving," Optimus growled, "Autobots… roll out."

"Move out!" Lennox ordered, and the soldiers followed suit.

They headed south on 2nd Avenue, the traffic gone for good.

* * *

><p>As soon as Randall Irving sat down beside the bed, he felt his thesis crash down around him.<p>

Timothy Dalton lay on the bed, a bandage around his eyes, his heartbeat a simple _blip_, _blip_, _blip_…

"Lieutenant-Colonel Dalton?" Irving asked.

The blind figure moved slightly. "Who's there?" he croaked through a throat that was dry and ragged.

"What's Harbinger?"

The man flinched, as if struck. The _blips_ came faster.

And then, to Irving's shock, Dalton began to sob. But without eyes, he would never shed another tear.

"T-The… Decepticons…"

Irving then understood how Dalton had come to lose his eyes. The Decepticons had beaten him here.

"Whatever you told the Decepticons, you must tell me," Irving said urgently, "Whatever Harbinger is, I believe it's penetrated the highest echelons of Earth's security. You need to tell me everything you know about it."

_Why is he still alive?_ Irving thought, _If the Decepticons got everything out of him, why let him live to spread the tale?_

And that's when it hit Irving. He stared, dumbfounded, at Timothy Dalton.

The man himself confirmed it.

"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Dalton screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Nurses and doctors ran in to calm him down, ushering Irving from the room, as Dalton screamed in fear and pain.

Irving stepped outside a took a deep breath.

_Dalton never had anything to do with it. He knows nothing. It was someone else all along, masquerading as him…_

But he knew what to get next.

_I need some pictures._

* * *

><p>As the Autobots and soldiers hurried down the street, someone watched from above.<p>

"Hehehe…" Mindwipe chuckled, tracking them from roofs far above, "Run, little mice, to your little traps…"

"We're being tracked," Sixshot informed them. They all stopped immediately. Mindwipe ducked behind a roof.

"Where?" Optimus asked, eyeing Sixshot suspiciously.

"There," Sixshot replied, pointing to the building that Mindwipe was on.

_Uh-oh._

He quickly leapt off the building, falling with an audible smash on the next avenue over.

"Autobots!" Optimus shouted, "Get him!"

Mirage, Sideswipe and Bumblebee raced down an alleyway towards the other side of the building. Mindwipe looked up from the painful ground to find two blasters and a sword pointing at his face.

"I surrender!" he grovelled.

The smoke bomb exploded.

The entire street was filled with impenetrable smoke, causing the soldiers to cover their noses and mouths, and blocking the Autobots' optics.

"Where is he?" Bumblebee cried.

"That little shit…" Mirage muttered.

Sideswipe kept his swords in front of him, trying to peer through the impenetrable smoke.

"It's a light ion cloud!" he called, "Visibility should return short—"

Mindwipe grappled him to the floor, flying out of the smoke, and placed a hand over his mouth.

"See my eyes," he whispered, "Don't believe their lies…"

Sideswipe tried to struggle… and then looked into Mindwipe's optics.

They were far-seeing and filled with infinite knowledge. Small, yet expansive. Narrow, yet huge. Evil… yet brilliant.

"Don't try to fight…" Mindwipe whispered, his voice permeating Sideswipe's mind, "Or you'll never see the light. You are now a creature of mine… and you will awake at my sign…"

His optics began to spin and whirl within Sideswipe's head, twisting his mind around like an elastic band. He saw… loyalty… betrayal…

"Pray for yourself, for you're running out of time…" Mindwipe chuckled, "But beware the one who means you harm; the Prime."

And then Mindwipe disappeared into the smoke, leaving behind only an echo of his cackle.

The smoke then cleared as well, leaving the three confused Autobots to wallow in their failure.

"Where'd he go?" Mirage asked, enraged.

"I don't know," Bumblebee replied, "Sideswipe, did you see where he went?"

Sideswipe shook his head of the metaphorical cobwebs. "N-No… I didn't see him."

Mirage kicked a wrecked car in frustration. "They're gonna hit and run us all the way down to Chinatown!" he spat, "And we're gonna have to take it."

"If we survive that far," Sideswipe muttered gloomily.

As the three of them moved back towards the street to report their failure, Mindwipe watched from another rooftop.

"Go now, my pretty little pawn," he cackled, "Let misery be your shadow, and discord be your blade."

* * *

><p>They travelled down the next few blocks in utter silence. No Decepticons were visible on the rooftops, no drones came out to fight them… no birds whistled overhead. It was dead silence. And then, most disturbingly, the bodies began to disappear.<p>

The streets still ran red, but with no more corpses. Not a wasted soul was in sight.

"Optimus," Lennox muttered.

"I know," Optimus replied, "They've been moved."

"But where?"

That question brooded on their minds all the way to Central Park.

But when they reached the winter wonderland, they saw.

They saw it all.

For dead bodies don't bleed.

* * *

><p>The snow was perfect white. Not a red blemish lay upon it, not a footprint was recorded. It was snowing, a little fall of frozen water descending over the silent city. It caught in the dead trees and put out the last fires of war.<p>

And it covered the bodies.

They hung from huge shards of metal, crudely stabbed into the ground. Each one was impaled on a curved tip that hung them lazily in the air. They filled the park, covered it, like an open graveyard. Their mouths hung open in a silent scream, each one a morally destructive crucifix.

Several of the soldiers threw up. Epps fell to his knees. The Autobots stared with their mouths hanging open.

Optimus just stared coldly, his face expressionless.

Lennox spat on the snow.

"This is why we fight," he announced, "This is why we must triumph. The Decepticons… this is all their work. This is their fight. This is their—"

"Legacy."

A figure walked out of the snow, standing among the crucifixes. He was hulking, huge and powerful, each footstep like a thunderstrike. In one hand he held a huge flail, covered with buzzing blades, twisting with hunger for a victim. In his other, a katana blazed with blue fire that rippled along the blade and shone brighter than the snow. It was sharper than obsidian and stronger than titanium.

"This is our legacy," Bludgeon uttered, indicating the bodies all around him, "This is what one fights for. Our lasting proclamation to the galaxy; the will to do what must be done to achieve victory."

"Victory?" Optimus growled, "This is victory? This is genocide."

"It is a step forward," Bludgeon replied, "It is the beginning of a new age. The age of iron and fire, in which the last of these insects is exterminated and the cybertronians can be born once again."

"Simple as that, is it?" Bumblebee snarled, "Then why not find another planet, start again there?"

Bludgeon grinned, his hideous skull-mask leering. "Of course, single-minded revenge may be a part of it."

"Revenge is correct," Optimus uttered, drawing his keyblade, "And revenge is what fuels us now."

But figures began to appear among the crucifixes. Overload scuttled to his master's side, while Fracture appeared from out of the snow. Skywarp dropped down from above, flanked by Overcast and another Seeker named Crashdive. Drones approached, stepping through the snow in monotonous, emotionless paces.

"The trap is shut," Bludgeon muttered, "Now you will die."

The drones charged forward.

Optimus roared and met them, swinging his blade around.

Lennox roared as well, charging, launcher raised.

The rest of HARP followed suit. One after another, they charged into battle as a mist gathered.

The dead watched from above.

* * *

><p>The advent bloodletting! Oh, how it stirs the soul!<p>

Optimus carved upwards, splitting a drone in half, as Bumblebee blew another away. A third drone fell beneath Sixshot's blasters, exploding into pieces. Four and five fell to Mirage's and Sideswipe's blades, while the humans launched a full scale attack into the middle of it. Missiles smashed apart the drones, sending burning debris across the battlefield.

Then the real Decepticons joined in.

Backed by drones, Fracture literally leapt into the fray, screeching a manic laugh. She kicked back Mirage, before drawing her sniper rifle off her back. A shot blew Mirage into the next street, while she landed a kick on Sideswipe's cheek. He spun away, rallied, and smashed a fist into her mouth. Before she could recover, Arcee was on her.

"BITCH!" she roared.

"SLAG!" Fracture replied, and their brawl began.

Lieutenant Skywarp launched a missile right into the middle of them all, blowing apart drone and Autobot alike. They were all flung back, as the three Seekers dropped right into the thick of it.

"Alright," Skywarp snarled with a savage grin, "Who's first?"

Mirage charged forward and was beaten back by both Jetstorm and Crashdive, who began to circle him. But Bumblebee was having none of it, crashing into Crashdive and smashing him through several crucifixes. Mirage leapt into the air and spun a kick into Overcast's head, sending him flying into a frozen lake. But then a missile slammed into Mirage's back and Skywarp followed it up with a punch in the spine.

"Thirty-twos!" Epps roared, "FIRE AWAY!"

Four missiles sped from launchers and smashed into Skywarp, causing him to roar in pain and stumble back, firing a machinegun wildly. Bullets smashed into the ground and tore apart a couple of soldiers, but the fire was never-ceasing.

Optimus smashed two drones with a punch, before blowing apart another with his blaster. He kicked another to the ground and stomped his head. Sixshot and Bumblebee fought back-to-back, blowing apart more drones.

And then Bludgeon joined the battle.

Actually, he didn't 'join' it. He dominated it.

He knocked Skywarp out of the way, sending him out of the park and smashing him into a hotel.

Mirage then leapt at him, duelling with blades of his own, slamming them onto Bludgeon's katana. More drones entered the fray, as Bludgeon kicked Mirage away, swinging his flail in a wide arc that smashed into Mirage with the force of a meteor strike. Mirage was sent into the sky, where he fell and crashed into frozen lake.

Optimus brought his keyblade down, which Bludgeon blocked with his own sword.

"You fool," Bludgeon chuckled darkly, "You should have run as soon as you saw the crucifixes…"

"You should never have come here!" Optimus cried, kicking out. But Bludgeon simply nutted him and continued his assault.

"At least your… 'soldiers' have more sense than you," Bludgeon taunted.

Optimus turned his head and saw them.

The HARP soldiers were routed. No, they were broken. Despite Lennox's and Epps' attempts to get them back in line, they were running from the field of battle; the crucifixes and the large number of Decepticons had done it for them.

"Come back!" Epps roared, "You idiots!"

Bludgeon smashed a hook into Optimus's face, send shards of metal everywhere. Another strike smashed an optic to pieces.

"I expected more, Prime," Bludgeon hissed.

Arcee stabbed her blade through Fracture's knee. With a spin, she kicked Fracture into stasis lock, before turning around to leap at Bludgeon.

"No, ARCEE!" Optimus roared.

Arcee stabbed her blade through Bludgeon's arm, who grunted in annoyance and transformed. Arcee was thrown from him as his tank form was presented, the blade flying as well.

With a shot, he smashed Optimus backwards, sending him soaring into several frosty trees. He smashed into the ground with painful slam. The drones pressed forward as Arcee, seeing all was lost, transformed and shot off.

Optimus tried to feel the ground, but he felt as if he was floating on air. He tried to look around him, but found that he could not see. He tried to scramble… and did not feel a thing.

And then, a silvery vision came into sight on the snow.

"Sideswipe!" he croaked, "Help…"

Sideswipe stared down at his leader, his comrade. The 'bot he had followed all his life.

"Help me…"

"What have you done…?" Sideswipe muttered in an expressionless voice, "Your men abandon you…"

Optimus looked up and saw darkness within Sideswipe's optics.

"No…" he whispered.

Sideswipe smashed a foot into Optimus's chest, sending him sprawling further into the snow. Optimus gasped in shock and pain, looking up at one of his most loyal soldiers.

"YOU ARE NO PRIME!" Sideswipe roared, "YOU ARE A LIAR AND A FOOL'S IDOL!"

Another savage kick. Optimus groaned and spat out metal.

Sideswipe looked at Optimus with cold hatred.

"What have you done?" he muttered.

"The question you should ask," came a voice from behind, "Is what have you both done?"

Sideswipe turned and saw Mindwipe approaching out of the mist, flanked by Tankor and the scuttling Reverb.

"You have done well my little pawn," Mindwipe giggled, "You have given me Optimus Prime as a prisoner… and now, you've outlived your usefulness."

Tankor slammed a huge fist into Sideswipe's gut, before smashing a knee into his face. Then two Autobots were left on the snowy ground, with three Decepticons staring down.

"Let me dissect him!" Reverb cackled.

Mindwipe raised a metaphorical eyebrow. "I did not realise that you were a 'con of science, Reverb."

"Science? Screw science; I want to see what he looks like inside!"

"What 'bout this one?" Tankor bellowed, pointing down at Sideswipe.

"Execute him," Mindwipe chuckled, "Or play with him. I couldn't care less…"

As Reverb moved to try and drag the huge Optimus Prime, Tankor pulled a blaster out of his leg and pointed it at Sideswipe's head…

"SHOOT THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS!" Epps near screamed, as several missiles sped over the Autobots and smashed into the Decepticons, sending them stumbling backwards.

"FIRE FIRE FIRE!" Lennox roared, a missile speeding from his shoulder smashing into Reverb's throat.

"We got Decepticons incoming!" Epps roared at the two Autobots, as several HARP soldiers took up defensive positions. Dazed and confused, both Optimus Prime and Sideswipe looked around, bewildered.

"What have I done…?" Sideswipe muttered, his panic rising.

"GO!" Lennox bellowed, "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Transforming, both Optimus and Sideswipe sped out of the park, as the HARP soldiers stood guard. Mindwipe, Tankor and Reverb fled into the mist.

"Alright then," Epps shouted, "A guarded retreat, back four blocks—"

"We'd never get away in time," Lennox muttered, and they all knew it to be true. The Autobots had abandoned them and they were too few to fight off any Decepticon assault.

_One I want, one I must go with._

Epps stared at his commander. "Then what…?"

Lennox looked around him. Faces, new and fresh and terrified, stared back at him.

"I…" he muttered.

_One I want, one I must go with._

"We hold!" Epps cried, "We stay in line and we hold this position! We ain't moving back, not one step!"

Most of the men gulped. Others gave resigned faces and checked their ammo.

"Epps," Lennox whispered.

"What is it, Bill?"

"Remember why we fight."

And then, to the utmost shock of everyone within eyesight, Colonel Lennox slammed the butt of his sabot launcher into Staff-Sergeant Epps's face. He was knocked out cold on impact, falling back into the snow.

"All of you," Lennox ordered, "Retreat; take the Staff-Sergeant with you."

There was silence. No-one moved.

"Get out of here!" Lennox shouted, "Take him!"

Without a word, the men began to depart, four of them carrying Epps by a limb each. They fell into the mist, vanishing from sight.

William was all alone. He sighed, and hefted his launcher into position.

_One I want, one I must go with._

_But, then again, it was always going to end like this, wasn't it?_

The ground began to shake.

_For the good of all of us. One man, to give other men the time they need._

The shaking stopped. Lennox looked up.

Bludgeon, titanic and imposing, stared down at him.

"You have been abandoned, human," Bludgeon uttered.

Lennox smiled. His last smile.

"You shall not pass," he quoted.

"I shall," Bludgeon replied, "And you shall move."

"You're offering me a chance to live?" Lennox asked, surprised.

"I rule by a code of honour," Bludgeon informed him, "And if you were just another body on the line, then you would be dispatched without hesitation. But what you are doing now is foolish. Fall back or fight; one will lead to your death later, one will lead to your death now."

Lennox stared up at him. This huge Decepticon that worked by honour… it had been a long time since Lennox had fought an enemy he didn't hate.

And he was being offered a chance to live.

"I. Am. A. Soldier."

Bludgeon frowned.

"I have killed people," Lennox continued, "I have killed both human and Autobot in my life, directly and indirectly. I have served on every continent on Earth, fought creatures like you… creatures beyond my wildest imagination. And I have beaten them. Read. My. Lips. I am Colonel William Lennox, commander in the Human/Autobot Resistance Pact and You. Shall. Not. Pass."

There was silence. There was no movement.

Bludgeon let out a small grunt.

Lennox stared him down. His fingers flexed around the trigger of his launcher.

Bludgeon gripped his flail.

"As you wish," he growled.

…

…

…

Lennox flipped his launcher up and fired, three shots in quick succession, each one slamming into Bludgeon as the huge Decepticon raised his flail and brought it down.

Lennox realised with dismal sadness that he hadn't even fazed him.

The flail came down.

_Sarah. Annabelle. I will watch you from above._

And, with a huge crash, William Lennox was smashed under the flail.

In one strike, he was bludgeoned to death.


	26. Bludgeoned to Death Part 2

Thanks, one and all, for your reviews: **Megan666, Mytical-Mist-Devil, Bigfan **and **Answerthecall**!

* * *

><p>Fracture looked around her.<p>

"This is their landmark?" she sneered.

She was inside a high hallway with a golden plaque of the building imprinted on the far wall. Tiny elevators stretched across the wall, while the usual guards were, of course, nowhere to be seen.

"It isn't big enough to be a hatchery," Fracture muttered. "What do you think?"

But when she turned, Bludgeon was nowhere in sight. He hadn't entered the building, but for him to leave without acknowledging her was extremely rude.

_I might just kill him after all…_

But when she left and turned her head left and right, he was still out of sight.

"Where—?" she began to ask herself, before some rubble trickled onto her shoulder. She looked up.

Bludgeon, like some fictional yet royal ape before him, was clambering up the side of the tower, breaking apart windows and stone as he ascended.

"Idiot," Fracture muttered under her breath.

Bludgeon kept climbing.

_I need to see it._

Twenty-five floors up.

_I need to see my new kingdom._

Fifty floors up. The wind whipped his skin, but he gave a deep laugh and continued on.

_It is time to defend it. To the last 'con if need be._

He reached the observation deck. He was almost at the top.

_Although, truly, I am the last Decepticon._

Holding the spire at the very top, he leant out and looked over New York.

He saw the forest of corpses in the park, the wrecked buildings, the frozen rivers… and beyond, he saw the Bronx, where the Autobots licked their wounds.

But he knew his enemies would arrive soon. And they would bring thunder.

He looked up.

_It seems the thunder's arrived._

Black clouds gathered overhead. A deep rumbling could be heard for miles.

_Now the true battle begins. It won't be about any stupid Pillars, or Allsparks… no, this will be pure fighting. The aim, to kill the enemy. The glory, to the one left alive. The victory, to the one who returns home…_

But Bludgeon was already home. Here, among the fires of war and the glory of battle, he could live and die happily.

He roared with laughter. And lightning arced over the Empire State Building.

_This is my time. This is… My. War._

* * *

><p><span>Episode 26: Bludgeoned to Death (Part 2)<span>

_Sound and fury  
>Drowns my heart<br>Every nerve  
>IS TORN APART!<em>

—**Cygnus X-1**

* * *

><p>They sat around in the gloom, none of them looking at each other. Optimus had not said one word. Epps had simply sat on the ground and looked at the floor.<p>

Sideswipe had disappeared an hour earlier. Although they had worked out that it had probably been Mindwipe who had brainwashed Sideswipe, it didn't change the fact that if Sideswipe hadn't attacked Optimus… Colonel William Lennox might still be alive.

A young, red-faced major from Mount Vernon's armoured division entered.

"General Redwood is moving out," the major told the remnants of HARP, "He says you can come with if you want. You're experience and prowess would be greatly appreciated."

No-one moved or said anything. The major nodded hurriedly and left.

Most of the newbies were affected by Colonel Lennox's death, but only because everyone else was. The way the Autobots acted and the way in which the veterans held him in such high esteem, made the new guys feel as if a great, looming presence had disappeared. They seemed shrunken in and desolated, not just from the loss of command, but from the loss of a great friend.

No-one felt this more than the Autobots. Although only Ratchet, Bumblebee and, of course, Optimus had been with the colonel since the beginning, the others had been led by his cool head and powerful speech, until they simply respected him. He was also one of the few humans' who was genuinely liked among the aliens. Now it seemed that Epps was the only one left alive…

"It really is no use sitting here," Arcee announced, standing up. "We might as well go out there and kill the bastards who took out Will."

There were several murmurings of agreement, but everyone still turned to look up at Optimus.

He sat in the middle of the room, staring hard at the floor. No doubt Lennox's death had affected him greatly, especially when Lennox's last act had been to save him… and Optimus's last act had been to rebuff him.

"You've got to remember who we're fighting, Optimus," Arcee told him, "The Decepticons are out there, waiting for us to attack them. We need to go out and meet them, with the humans backing us, and wipe Bludgeon's brigade from the planet!"

There was now a chorus of shouts. Mirage stood as well, lending his support to Arcee.

But Optimus still did not look up. The shouting began to die down.

Suddenly, Bumblebee leapt up.

"Optimus Prime!" he roared in their language, "Don't remember Lennox; remember who killed him! Remember who killed Ironhide! Remember who killed Sam!"

Optimus raised his head to look at Bumblebee, the oldest veteran among them. And yet still so young for an Autobot… in fact, looking around, they were all far too young.

_They shouldn't be fighting a war. And not a war such as this, a never-ending war…_

Even Epps, who still sat with his arms over his head, was young compared to human veterans.

"Optimus!" Mirage cried, "The humans are moving out! We need to join them or they'll be decimated!"

Optimus flexed his fist.

_So what if they die? They are just like us… nothing more than idiots who will wage war forever more… we can't change anything, we can't do anything… and we can't save anyone…_

Then, a peculiar sound could be heard. It sounded like distant thunder, yet came from within the hangar.

The members of HARP looked around, trying to locate the source of the strange noise. Their ears and audio receptors were drawn to Sixshot.

With a start, they realised he was laughing.

Optimus cast his gaze around to where the new Autobot sat in the corner. His glare could kill a snake.

"And what are you so happy about?" he growled.

Sixshot looked up. Everyone stared at him.

"Happy?" Sixshot said, almost bemused, "You think I'm… happy? I don't think I ever could be…"

"Then what are you laughing for?" Optimus thundered.

Sixshot chuckled. "Your sheer ridiculousness, Optimus Prime. Prime… HA! That's a title they reserve for the heroes; the brave and the selfless! And yet you sit here, moping like a puerile hatchling. I expected more from a Prime, more from Optimus who has kept the Autobots alive through these long deca-cycles. 'Prime'? I name you pathetic, Optimus; you are unable to lead yourself, let alone the rest of us."

Bumblebee trained his blaster on Sixshot. "Say another word and I'll split your skull!"

Sixshot gazed at him coolly. "Put away that gun, kid, before I shove it down your throat and blow it out your ass."

The two of them glared at each other before Arcee interrupted. "Stop it! The humans are moving out! We have to decide now; are we going with them?"

Sixshot chuckled. "It depends on what our fearless leader orders. Ask Optimus, female."

Arcee glared at Sixshot, before turning to Optimus.

Who wasn't there.

Everyone looked at the hangar entrance, where Optimus stood, staring out towards New York.

They waited.

Optimus turned his head to look at them.

"We will kill them all," he uttered, "But Bludgeon's mine."

They whooped and cheered and near-charged out the hangar.

* * *

><p>Unlike his master, who had to clamber up like a damned monkey, Overload's insect legs were up to the task of scaling the colossal structure his commander had stupidly placed himself.<p>

He reached the top, he spider-legs digging into the foundation.

"Lieutenant Bludgeon," Overload muttered, "Insect soldiers are pouring in from the western city, while more come down from the north. Our defences are set up; what are your orders?"

Bludgeon still clung to the spire. He still looked out over his territory.

"The Autobots are coming," he growled, "With renewed vigour."

Overload said nothing, praying his commander wouldn't rattle away into a soliloquy.

There was silence. Overload waited patiently.

"Detonate the bridges across the Hudson River," Bludgeon ordered at last, "Block all tunnels and subways."

Overload nodded and began to scramble down.

"Come then, Optimus," Bludgeon muttered, "Come one, come all. Let us battle in this hive and leave such a body count that our legacy will forever be cemented! Let us fight, until one of us dies upon the other's blade! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

His laugh carried across the city, as New York braced itself for full-scale war.

* * *

><p>The tanks and other assorted armoured vehicles charged down 7th Avenue, attack choppers flying overhead. They passed straight through Harlem without any outside interruptions.<p>

"General Redwood!" a young lieutenant cried from the general's jeep, "They've blown all access to New Jersey! We're cut off!"

The general cursed under his breath. "Get Optimus Prime up front; he can take the brunt of the firepower and will be the first to rush in."

The lieutenant nodded and turned to give the communications officer his remits. A minute later, the Autobot leader came thundering up beside them, to the cheers of the soldiers.

Suddenly, there were several sounds, not unlike explosions, coming from the west.

"Sir! 1st Column's been hit! They're being attacked on Broadway!"

"Where's third column?" the general roared.

"They're clearing away rubble on Park Avenue!"

"Fuck the rubble! We're isolated! Can't the gunships see anything?"

The lieutenant looked up to see the AH-64 Apaches. And saw what destroyed them.

A huge Seeker smashed straight down through one, before landing on the general's jeep with a thunderous crash, killing all inside immediately. The Seeker gazed around, splitting the convoy in half.

Crashdive grinned and drew an absolutely huge scimitar off his back.

The next tank in line tried to raise its cannon in a panic, but Crashdive swung his scimitar downwards, splitting the tank in half. Electricity crackled off his blade.

But before he could dispatch the next in line, Mirage leapt at him. Although he was considerably smaller than his adversary, he still charged with all his might, three small missiles firing from his shoulders. Crashdive let them explode against the side of his blade, before it clashed with Mirage's two.

Right from the start, it was an unfair fight. Crashdive was eight feet taller than his Autobot adversary, with nearly twice as much weight, and his scimitar could cut through titanium. He kicked away the pesky Autobot and raised his scimitar for a dismembering blow.

But then his back exploded in pain. He whirled around and saw that the tanks of the other half were opening fire. And Optimus Prime was running straight towards him.

With a twisted shriek of amusement, Crashdive swung his scimitar down, striking the tarmac. With a thunderous shockwave, an electrical bolt of yellow lightning sliced down the street, shredding through the tanks and knocking Optimus Prime to the ground. With a roar of triumph, Crashdive shot into the air… and found Mirage hanging onto his leg. Spitting and snarling, he transformed, dropping the Autobot, and fled into the sky in his Su-37 Terminator form.

Mirage dropped like a stone, falling past the buildings and towards the street, towards the street, towards the street—

Optimus caught him by the foot. The Prime looked angry.

"Mirage," he warned, putting his comrade back on terra firma, "What kind of brazen idiocy caused you to cling on to him?"

"It worked for Skystalker back in Tibet…" Mirage muttered.

"Tibet. Do you actually remember what happened to you in Tibet?"

Mirage hung his head on shame. Optimus looked to the other Autobots who had joined them.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"Crashdive," Arcee spat, "He's a big 'con, but he doesn't talk much."

"Why not?"

"I tore his voice box out on Cybertron."

Optimus gave a mirthless snort before turning to look south-west.

"Are there any more like him?"

"I assume there'll be lots."

Optimus hefted his blaster up. "Then let's get them."

They transformed and roared down the street, leaving the human armour behind.

* * *

><p>"<em>Life's so hard, isn't it?" Allheart rhetorically asked, stalking through Marcus's mind like a shadow, always following.<em>

"_Could you not please interrupt?"_

"_To wrap one's tongue around another… how disgusting," Allheart sneered, "You have no shame, Marcus Twist."_

"_And you have no feelings."_

"_I have feelings. Just none that you'd like."_

"_But why do you persist on intruding in my personal life? What have I ever done to you?"_

"_You've done nothing wrong to me, Marcus. It's just that living in your head is an incredibly dull experience; to reinvigorate it, I interrupt you at the most… awkward moments."_

"_Awkward is right, you bastard. I'm trying to enjoy my time with Stacy, and all I get is your hideous face in my way."_

_Allheart grinned. Marcus shivered._

Stacy pulled away. "Are you alright?"

"I… wish I could say I was."

"Then what's the matter?"

"My head, that's what."

"_Remember… don't say a word about me," Allheart hissed._

"_And why would I ever do that?"_

"What are you seeing now?" Stacy asked, "The Decepticons?"

"I wish…"

Suddenly, the door swung open and Ryder barged in, carrying something.

"Do you mind?" Stacy asked vehemently.

"Of course not," Ryder replied, striding up their beds, "But as I know you would throw a hissy fit at me later for not showing you this, I'm showing you this."

He placed a laptop between them. There was a strange image on the screen.

"What's this?" Marcus asked.

"Real-time of the Battle for New York," Ryder replied, "I hacked an already hacked satellite to bring you this video feed. Courtesy of Soundwave's Hacked International Territory. Yes, I made that for the acronym."

Absorbed by the battle, Marcus didn't realise what Ryder had said until a minute later.

"Wait a second… this is coming from a satellite the Decepticons have hacked?"

"No. It's coming from a satellite that Soundwave is riding at this very moment. Despite his influence over the world, he cares very little for watching his own security. That will be a mistake he won't live to regret, I'm sure."

"Why haven't you shown this to General Mason?" Marcus asked, already knowing the answer.

Ryder lit a cigarette and blew smoke out his mouth. "Because he would attempt to arrest me for messing with good old Eagleland. And he wouldn't so anything about Soundwave."

"Why not show it to the Autobots when they return?"

"If they return."

"You know just how to ruin everything, don't you?"

Ryder nodded. "I guess you won't be thanking me for the laptop then. I could always take it back you know."

"N-No!" Stacy cried in alarm, fascinated by the raging battle, "Thanks, Ryder."

Marcus nodded in appreciation. Ryder shrugged and moved towards the exit.

"Just tell me when you're going on your next Decepticon killing adventure," he asked, "I could do with one of those."

* * *

><p>Arcee stabbed her serrated blade through a drone's head, before swiping down, splitting it in half. A second one tore at her arm with bullets, but with a throw of her sword she pierced its head and dropped it dead.<p>

Overcast was next, but without a blade Arcee realised the odds were in his favour. He swung a club her way, but she quickly pounced away, regrouping.

"We really could use Sideswipe about now," she muttered as Overcast stalked towards her.

The Autobots were in pitch battle with the Decepticons and yet again in Central Park. They had retraced their steps back to the field of crucifixes, to which they were more prepared for, and found a drone taskforce waiting for them.

Mirage decapitated another drone, before kicking another in the cheek, sending it crashing into an icy lake. But then a missile from an unseen enemy smashed into his chest, sending him skidding across the snow, destroying several of the morale-killing totems.

A drone appeared out of nowhere and pointed a blaster down at him. Its soulless optic did not give away hatred, fear, hunger or insanity, for it possessed no spark for those. It was a machine, in the same way an aircraft was.

But a missile blew apart the drone before it could land the killing blow. Mirage looked up to see several AH-64 gunships fly overhead. Missiles streamed from them like the aftermath of a party popper, each one impacting upon a target and tearing it apart.

On a huge hotel overlooking the park, Skywarp grinned.

"Let's go, big guy," he muttered.

Crashdive didn't respond.

They leapt off, transformed and shot towards the gunships, returning missiles and a few lasers. Gunships blew apart and their flaming debris fell upon the park like a firestorm, both humans and Autobots rushing to get out of the way. The entire park was soon covered in both fire and water.

Optimus Prime tore open three drones with one swing of his keyblade, before striking down another two with the following strike.

"Push them back!" he roared, "Kill them all!"

Those in HARP needed no more encouragement, as both human and Autobot blew apart drones and pushed the remaining Decepticons back.

"Optimus!" Bumblebee cried, "I'm detecting unknown energy signatures to the east!"

"Reinforcements?" Mirage asked as a missile whistled overhead.

"But for who?" Sixshot asked sagely, blowing open a drone's head with a revolver.

They continued to fight on, regardless of the impending unknowns. The Decepticon forces began to fall back, losing ground and troops. The Seekers took to the sky and fled towards the Empire State Building.

"Where are they no—" Optimus asked, but was interrupted.

Ten IFVs launched themselves into the park, firing wildly at the cybertronians. The Autobots ducked and Decepticon drones were torn apart, huge armour-piercing rounds penetrating them all. Explosions rocked New York… and then all was silent.

The once massive battle had completely faded. Slowly, hesitantly, HARP soldiers climbed out of the snow and looked around. The Autobots did too.

The ten Infantry Fighting Vehicles were in an orderly line in the middle of the park. They did not move and no-one from inside came out.

Bumblebee, not one to wait, asked, "Which side are you on?"

Then, much to everyone's shock, the ten IFVs transformed.

Together, in synchronisation, the ten armoured vehicles twisted in on themselves, parts coming away and being replaced, before ten figures the size of Mirage stood to attention. Khaki green and brown with green optics, they all stared straight ahead. One at the end spoke.

"This one's designation is Landmine 1," the new transformer said, "We are on the side of HARP and the United States of America."

"Optimus," Bumblebee said uncomfortably, "What the hell is this?"

"Ratchet," Optimus spoke through his communicator, "Are you there?"

"_Yes, Optimus,_" came the reply from Kublak Han, "_And I know why you're calling; the Landmine units. General Mason's just informed me of them. He says that he will discuss them later, when you get back; apparently, all you need to know is that they're on our side._"

Optimus felt increased rage bubbling up inside of him.

"_I know how you must be feeling Optimus; destroy them if you wish. But for now, please take out all the Decepticons and make sure you all come back alive._"

Optimus nodded, before realising Ratchet couldn't see it, and turned to Landmine 1.

"Are you programmed to follow our orders?" he asked the automaton.

"We will follow Optimus Prime," came the robot's response. This was no transformer, Optimus realised, just the shade of one.

"Then follow us," Optimus ordered, and HARP began to move through Central Park.

The Landmine units followed.

* * *

><p>"They've destroyed our vanguard!" Skywarp cried, landing on the huge tower, "And they've got some form of drone reinforcements!"<p>

Bludgeon looked down on his fellow lieutenant in distaste. To him, Skywarp was still just a grunt who got amazingly lucky thanks to Thundercracker's surprising charity. He didn't deserve his promotion and he didn't deserve to boss smarter 'cons around. Despite that, Bludgeon had to admit Skywarp's aerial supremacy was matched only by Starscream and the Decepticon who promoted him.

"We have reserves," Bludgeon growled in response, "The Dreads among them. Your Seekers need to keep the skies clear; it won't be long until insect bombers start to arrive and flatten our city."

Skywarp glared up at Bludgeon while Fracture watched from the side-lines.

"What was the point?" Skywarp muttered.

"What?" Bludgeon snarled.

"What was the point in taking this hive?" Skywarp questioned, "The humans will bring down their entire army down on us; we'll never keep it. It has no tactical or strategic advantages, nor any amount of energon or the likes. What was the point?"

Bludgeon turned to look out over New York. He grimaced.

"You are aware, Skywarp, that you will die?"

Skywarp drew a blade off his back. "Are you threatening me?"

"Put that toy away before you embarrass yourself," Bludgeon dismissed, "I asked you if you were aware that you will eventually die?"

Skywarp frowned and sheathed the blade. "No-one lives forever."

"Now you're getting the picture. Everyone dies, do they not?"

"Yeah, they do."

"WRONG!" Bludgeon suddenly roared, slamming a fist into the tower, shocking the other two lieutenants. "Anyone can live forever! So many have already!"

"You're insane…"

"Washington," Bludgeon growled, "Is the name of an insect who created this very faction we have invaded. He lives forever; through memory, through teachings, through _legacy_. He even has a hive named after him. He will never ever die because of what he has done. But what of the insects we have killed? The ones who decorate the streets below; they will only live on as a sad statistic. A million is a number, while a single person can change the world. Today, I have done something that will live forever and I with it!"

"But you'll still die!" Skywarp argued, "The insects, no matter how memorable they are, are all dead!"

"Name one of the insects you have killed today," Bludgeon asked.

Skywarp stared hard at Bludgeon, trying to work out if it was some sort of trick.

"Do you remember Sentinel Prime?" Bludgeon uttered.

Skywarp frowned. "Of course I do—"

"Then Sentinel lives on, in our minds and theirs. But the people below will be nameless and forgotten, dead forever…"

Skywarp was now boiling with rage. "You're an idiot. When you're dead, you're dead. You won't be alive to see anyone remember you."

"But if you're going to die, why not die in the lives of others?" Bludgeon asked.

"It's the one who's last alive who wins," Skywarp retorted, "Immortality is impossible, but outliving everyone else isn't."

"Then what would your existence have wrought?"

At that point, Fracture rolled her optics and sighed. "Pretentious philosophies aside, gentlemen," she interrupted, "The Autobots are coming."

Bludgeon and Skywarp looked back to the Park. A reinforced HARP army was heading their way.

"Then let's shape our own futures," Bludgeon muttered, "In whatever way we see fit. But I suggest starting with the destruction of our enemies."

"That," Skywarp said with a grin, "Is something we can agree on."

He leapt into the air, transformed, and shot off.

"SEEKERS!" he roared, "TO ME!"

The pitiful force of Overcast, Crashdive and a dozen aerial drones joined him.

Bludgeon stood with renewed vigour.

"FULL SCALE ATTACK!" he thundered, every ear or audio receptor in the city hearing it.

From the streets below, drones burst out of hiding places, the Dreads took to the wheel and Mindwipe prepared his tools.

"I want you up here," Bludgeon told her, "With your rifle. You can kill whoever you want; just not Optimus Prime."

"Alright then," Fracture said with a salacious smile, lying on her front, "Just don't get in my target reticule."

Bludgeon stopped on his way to descend the tower, glowering at Fracture with unmatched menace.

"Shoot anyone I don't tell you to shoot," he growled with fury, "And I'll flay you."

"I'm looking forward to it," she muttered and cocked her rifle.

Bludgeon leapt from the Empire State Building. Withdrawing his katana, he stabbed it into the epic architecture, dragging it down as he fell, slowing his descent. He landed with purpose and poise and turned towards to the Park.

"ALL UNITS!" he roared with resplendent command, "DESTROY. THEM. ALL! LET THIS BE OUR FINAL BATTLE!"

They charged into the battle of the titans.

And snow began to fall.

* * *

><p><em>Blood ran black, metal screeched on metal and<br>the dead screamed in agony.  
>They fought under monuments of death, majesty and<br>gods snorted in derision.  
>There, there. There, there.<br>I'm cold…_

_For the dead tell no tales  
>but their blood told it all.<em>

* * *

><p>Metre by metre, the Decepticons were pushed back. Landmine 4 was killed by a headshot, while soldiers were torn apart around them. They reached the edge of the park, taking cover by drone corpses, while the Seekers hunted from above.<p>

A second shot from Fracture tore through Landmine 10, killing it instantly.

Blood dribbled down Epps's chin. He looked up, hefting a launcher.

"One more push, guys," he muttered, not knowing or caring whether his men heard, "And we're there. We can push them into the bay if we wanted to…"

Then, without warning, he charged from cover, firing wildly.

The soldiers of HARP followed him, roaring their support.

* * *

><p><em>One by one they fell, through fire and steel,<br>crying out in terror.  
>Trampled underfoot, madness all around,<br>None escaped the chaos.  
>All for an audience of damned and needy<br>The harbinger of their war._

_And they died.  
>Oh, yes, they died…<em>

* * *

><p>"Mindwipe," Reverb hissed, "I'd suggest that we flee this battlefield…"<p>

"But why miss the show for your cowardice?" Mindwipe retorted, "This is too good to miss."

Tankor said nothing, the hulking Decepticon standing firm.

"We could at least retreat to a higher vantage point…" Reverb continued.

"Shut up."

Suddenly Tankor grunted. The other two Decepticons looked at him.

A long, sharp blade was sticking out of his chest. Tankor slumped forward, sliding off the blade, dying as his head hit the roof.

"Evening," Sideswipe muttered, cleaning his sword on the concrete, "Gentlemen."

Reverb squeled while Mindwipe wasted no time and leapt off the building, a blade slicing his arm off as he fell. Reverb transformed into a motorcycle and sped as fast as he could off the roof.

Mindwipe smashed into the ground.

* * *

><p><em>No escape, no place to hide, so<br>you can only fight to their death.  
>Sound and fury, break their hearts;<br>nothing left but spare parts.  
>Welcome to the city of the damned<br>where you will rot._

_But there is hope left…  
>for those who dream to take it.<em>

* * *

><p>They encircled the Empire State Building.<p>

"At least they didn't wreck this," Lieutenant Henderson allowed.

"I think we should be more concerned with survivors than with the buildings," Bumblebee shot back at him.

Henderson looked at the ground. "People need hope. This building still stands where the people have fallen…"

"Where the hell is Sideswipe?" Epps shouted, "We've been dying to get through this city and he runs off over… over nothing more than a mistake!"

"I think he's helping," Optimus muttered, "In his own way. We may not see him… but the Decepticons will."

* * *

><p><em>And now the final battle rages, without monarch or cause<br>just for vengeance.  
>Vengeance kills more than love, that's obvious<br>For those who wish to see.  
>So, while Liberty looks down on them all with sad eyes<br>the world waits with baited breath._

_Liberty… only true liberty can come from death,  
>the freedom of all things.<em>

* * *

><p>"Looks like you've got your backs to the sea," Skywarp said triumphantly, "While I'm only limited by space itself."<p>

"We were always going to end up in this position," Bludgeon answered him, staring up at the sky, storm clouds gathering. "For it is the final stand I deeply care about."

"Final stand…?" Fracture muttered, realisation beginning to dawn on her.

"You mean you never wanted to live through this?" Skywarp asked bitterly, "How pathetic…"

Bludgeon grabbed the Seeker by the throat, crushing it in a vice-like grip.

"Which is more pathetic?" Bludgeon growled as Skywarp choked, "Your cowardice, or my fight?"

"We'll see," Fracture said, placed a hand on Bludgeon's arm. He let go and Skywarp transformed. The Seeker shot into the sky, fleeing back to the moon.

"But do you really want to make your stand here?" Fracture asked, looking around the pier, "I thought for someone of your ego you'd want a place much more…"

"Grand?" Bludgeon finished and pointed behind her.

Out in the bay, there was an island. And upon this island, standing erect like the Colossus of Rhodes so many years before it, was a lady bathed in green.

"That's not bad," Fracture admitted, "It seems the insects love their gods even in their modern era."

"That is no god," Bludgeon replied, "That is their personification of Liberty, in the form of a female."

"A female?" Fracture asked with a smile, "Maybe these humans have the right idea about leadership."

"Liberty is not a leader," Bludgeon finished, "It is a lie."

And then he stepped into the water, and sank like a stone.

* * *

><p>"Would you look at that?" Dreadwing asked, "Look at that battle, raging."<p>

Ramjet dismissed it without a second thought. "Autobots, Decepticons and humans all jockeying for position. Infantile."

"Agreed. But still fascinating."

Despite what it looked like, Mars was a cold planet. Further from the sun than Earth, it received less powerful light and therefore, less powerful warmth. Dreadwing shivered and turned his internal temperature up.

"How much longer must we wait?" he asked for the millionth time, if only to pass it by seconds.

"When Harbinger completes its plan," Ramjet answered, "Harbinger is the only one who can put paid to all that we've strived for. Once Harbinger has finished and our agent reports back, we can finish what we came to do."

Dreadwing wondered for a while.

"How can Harbinger stop us? It is just one human, correct?"

Ramjet shifted his optics. "Wrong. And the reason Harbinger can stop us, is that Harbinger can kill off the Autobots or the Decepticons whenever Harbinger feels like it. Harbinger can even do it to us if we were on Earth."

"Could Harbinger kill the destroyer?"

"Since when did you become a hatchling? Nothing can harm the destroyer, living, dead or else…"

"Else?"

Ramjet grinned. "There's a creature on that planet both man and cybertronian was never supposed to see."

"And what is that creature?"

But Ramjet only chuckled. Dreadwing was left to wallow in contemplation.

* * *

><p>"The army reserves are clearing Chinatown and Little Italy," Henderson informed everyone on the pier, "And still no sign of Bludgeon."<p>

They sat on the pier the Decepticons had occupied only minutes ago. The remnants of HARP were nowhere near what they had been. Both Arcee and Mirage where in stasis lock, fifty-four men had died, including the colonel and Sideswipe was still nowhere to be seen.

But they had retaken the city. That's all that mattered. The Decepticons had been ousted and… and… and what was left?

"We have just claimed an empty husk," Optimus muttered, "All those lives wasted… for nothing."

It would be at this point that someone would argue, come out with a counter to Optimus's proclamation, defend what they had reclaimed. But no-one did. They had lost so much for a city whose population had been eradicated save for a lucky hundred or so. There had been no need… and what was worse, Bludgeon was gone. Disappeared to launch another massacre someplace else or to report his success back to Megatron.

"We'd better return to Kublak Han," Bumblebee concluded, his voice far away, "The army will clear up here—"

"OPTIMUS!" boomed a voice across the city.

They turned towards Liberty Island.

Atop the green colossus, a silhouetted figure stood triumphant.

"COME FACE ME LIKE A TRUE CYBERTRONIAN!" Bludgeon roared, "ONE-ON-ONE, THE LAST BATTLE!"

There was silence.

Slowly, steadily, Optimus stood. He walked across the pier.

"Optimus!" Bumblebee cried, "You must know it's a trap!"

Optimus continued to walk.

"I believe he knows," Sixshot muttered.

"No-one follow me," Optimus ordered, before he stepped into the water and disappeared beneath the waves.

Silence prevailed again.

"We wait five minutes," Bumblebee muttered, "Then we follow."

But they all knew that in the end, only Bumblebee would follow. They had seen too much for one day, fought for so long, fought so hard… the soldiers of HARP would not follow.

* * *

><p><em>I am coming, <em>Optimus thought.

_He is coming, _Bludgeon thought.

_And I will kill him._

_And he will try to kill me._

_And I will succeed._

_And he will fail._

_For the lives of others, for the good in those I know… and for Colonel William Lennox._

_For the power and the glory, for ever and ever… and for me._

_Let this fight be our last._


	27. Bludgeoned to Death Part 3

The surface moved. It writhed and rocked, pelted with rain.

The Decepticon slowly rose to the surface. A small, paranoid-installed ballast helped him reach the rolling surface, his heavy, limp form ascending to the top.

A downpour swept around him, lightning revealing his bloated body to the world. He floated, barely conscious.

_They… they called me insane… hehehe…_

A creature swam towards him.

_They called me… paranoid…_

The horrifying creature swam up to him.

_They… I… I survived…_

The creature bit down into the Decepticon's remaining arm. With no voice left to scream, he simply moaned into the water.

Slowly, painfully, the creature began to drag the Decepticon through the rolling sea. Thunder echoed through the night.

Eventually, the creature dragged him onto dry land. The Decepticon suddenly felt immensely heavy when dragged onto the sand and grass. He breathed, letting the mixture of nitrogen and oxygen tickle his chest.

"Mindwipe."

The Decepticon's optics flickered on.

The face of a hideous monster looked hungrily down at him. Blood-red optics and jet black skin presented a carnivorous mouth filled with sharp teeth and horrifying intentions. It was a beast, hungry and mad, yet diabolically nefarious at the same time. It stood on four legs, like a dog, and growled at the Decepticon.

Mindwipe was still with fear.

"Mindwipe," the creature reiterated, his voice black and animal-like.

Mindwipe finally found his voice.

"Hatchet," he whispered with untold dread and fear.

"There's no need to be so scared," Hatchet chuckled darkly, "We're your… allies."

Hearing a splash beside him, Mindwipe turned his head.

The lean and terrifying figure of Crowbar walked out of the sea, dragging another unconscious Decepticon behind him. Mindwipe vaguely recognised it as Reverb; he was the only one who could possess that insect-like silhouette.

Crowbar looked up at his hatchling brother. "What should we do with them?"

"Bludgeon doesn't especially care," came a third voice, sly and unforgiving, "So I guess they're ours for now…"

There was deathly silence, until thunder rolled again.

"So…" Hatchet muttered, "Crankcase? Should we _consume_ them?"

Mindwipe started shaking.

"Who are they?" Crankcase asked.

"I don't recognise this one," Crowbar muttered, kicking the limp form of Reverb.

"This one's Mindwipe," Hatchet growled, "And I must admit, Soundwave would not be pleased if we were to…" He trailed off.

Crankcase nodded, his razor-sharp teeth gleaming with every thunderbolt.

"We can't be too gluttonous anyway," he told his brothers, "One will suffice."

Mindwipe had very little capacity for pity or sadness. He had never felt sadness his entire life. And he hadn't felt pity for a long time…

_Please don't wake up, please don't wake up, please don't wake up…_

But as the Dreads converged on Reverb, he inevitably awoke.

And his screams would stay with Mindwipe for years afterwards. He could nothing but watch.

They gorged on him, tearing apart metal and bone, energon and flesh. They lapped out the liquids that scattered the sands, tore at each other in their attempt to consume more food.

"Bludgeon will never let you get away with this…" Mindwipe gasped.

Crowbar looked up from the feast. He grinned, his mouth blue and dripping. He raised a finger inland. Mindwipe followed it.

A colossal statue, even by cybertronian standards, stood over him. His optics ascended, all the way to the top.

Atop its head, a lean and darkened figure stared out over the world. His optics were ablaze with intensity, his katana ablaze with turquoise fire.

Mindwipe curled up on the beach and awaited the end.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 27: Bludgeoned to Death (Part 3)<span>

_Crashed out of the market, out on the floor;  
>Washed up on the shore!<br>Bombed outta the city, out of the door;  
>Blown up against the wall!<br>Put out of the picture, axe about to fall;  
>Walk before you crawl!<br>Dragged down to the bottom, Screamin' for air;  
>The shark must get his share!<em>

**—Snowballed**

* * *

><p><strong>Interview Session #3: The present, and the monsters within.<strong>

"Either stand to attention," Gerin ordered, "Or lie face down on the floor."

Marcus hesitated.

"…Or you could lie down on the couch if you feel like it," Gerin said with a laugh. "Come on Marcus; you should just relax here! Do whatever you feel is comfortable."

"Sorry," Marcus murmured drowsily "I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep recently…"

Gerin noticed the bags under his eyes and furrowed her brow. "Why not?"

"I…"

"_Not a word."_

"…Just some nightmares."

"What about?" Gerin asked, clicking her pen and readying her clipboard.

"Well… the Decepticons, mainly. But the Autobots as well."

"Who exactly?"

"_This isn't all a lie," Marcus told himself, "You keep on showing me them! But why?"_

_Allheart grinned and shrank back into the darkness._

"Well, nearly all of them," Marcus said. "I mean, you've got Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Shockwave… but… they all seem kind of grey."

"Grey?"

"Like… out of focus. Or fuzzy. Lacking colour…"

"So they all seem like this?"

"Well… there are two which look normal… bright in fact…"

"_What is up with those two?" Marcus asked, angry in his confusion._

_But Malevolus only giggled louder._

"Who?"

"One of them is Starscream. The other I don't recognise."

Gerin nodded, thoughtfully. She scribbled something on her clipboard. After a second's hesitation, she got up.

"I'll be right back," she told Marcus before moving to the exit.

Marcus twiddled his thumbs.

"_You know what?" he said, mostly to himself, "I'm going to tell her about you."_

_The giggling stopped immediately. Two terrifying red eyes stared at him with malevolence._

"_No. You're not."_

"_I am."_

Images of torn apart corpses and the stench of death filled Marcus's brain. He clutched his head with his hands, his nails biting into his skin.

"_STOP IT!"_

"_THEN DON'T SAY A WORD, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Allheart screeched, leaping into Marcus's mind like an onrushing truck, "DON'T BE SO PATHETIC!"_

Marcus's breathing came ragged and heavy. He was furious, but also scared… but Allheart began to realise which would win out.

"_NO!" he roared, "NOT. ONE. WORD!"_

Allheart disappeared just as Gerin entered the room.

"Now I have some pictures I'd like you to see," Gerin said as she sat back down, clutching several large cards. "You couldn't recognise the other cybertronian who seemed to be… 'bright'. Hopefully you can pick him out among these ones."

She showed him the first card.

"That's Soundwave," Marcus remembered, "I see him a couple of times, but he's as grey as the rest."

Card number two was a Decepticon Marcus didn't recognise.

"This one was Brawl," Gerin informed him, "He was killed in the Battle of Mission City."

Marcus smiled at the next card.

"That's Bumblebee. But he's grey as well…"

Number four was Dead End. But Marcus never saw images of him.

Five, six and seven were Crowbar, Overcast and Thundercracker. Although Marcus hadn't known Crowbar's name, they were all grey.

Eight was Sentinel Prime.

"I never see him," Marcus said, "And he's dead as well, isn't he?"

Gerin nodded and drew card number nine.

"That's him!" Marcus exclaimed, "That's the other one who's never grey!"

Gerin looked at the card. She frowned.

"Who is he?" Marcus asked.

"A Decepticon called Astrotrain. Which is strange…"

"How?"

"As far as HARP are aware, neither Starscream or Astrotrain have any connection to the other, other than the fact that they are both Decepticons."

Marcus frowned as well.

"_What does this mean?" he asked hotly, "Why these two?"_

_Allheart grinned again._

"_You'll see," he muttered, "Rather… you won't."_

"Well, this is a subject we can explore another time," Gerin sighed, "Besides, with the exception of this one, we only have two interview sessions left."

"Oh," Marcus said, disappointed.

Gerin laughed. "Don't worry!" she told him, "It's not as if the sun's going to stop rising."

"One day," Marcus muttered, "It might."

"But not in our lifetime. So there's still no need to worry!"

She gave him one of her smiles and the whole world seemed to brighten for Marcus.

"Okay, only one question for the day," Gerin continued, "Why do you stay?"

"Stay?"

"Why are you here on Kublak Han? You will be returned to civilisation if you asked. So why stay?"

Marcus shrugged. "This place… it's my family now. There is nothing else left."

"A family?"

"Well… I don't know. Stacy's my friend. Ryder's sort of the idiotic big brother. Optimus is kind of the uncle and all the other Autobots are like cousins. And General Mason's the senile old grandpa."

Gerin stifled a giggle. "Who's the father?"

Marcus nervously tapped a finger. "There isn't one."

Gerin nodded understandingly. "And a mother?"

Marcus's finger tapped at twice the speed. "Well… it'd be you, of course."

He blushed, thinking he had said completely the wrong thing. But Gerin gave her warmest smile yet, something so sincere and so happy, Marcus felt himself drowning in it. It was almost radiant. He felt himself grinning back like an idiot.

"Thank you," Gerin replied, "I haven't… well, it's been a long time since I was a mother."

"You told me about that," Marcus muttered, "About your son…"

Gerin nodded, her smile diminishing and disappearing.

There was a strained silence. But eventually, Marcus realised how he must break it.

"I…" Marcus muttered.

"_NO!" Allheart thundered, "DON'T YOU DARE!"_

"There's… something…"

"_I WILL TEAR YOU APART, MARCUS TWIST! I WILL TEAR YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF…!"_

"There's something in my head," Marcus finished, scared and angry, "It's like a personality, calling itself Allheart. It's what's been showing me the images and keeping me sleepless. He came from the shard I touched…"

There was silence. Gerin did not move or say a word.

"_You… you…" Allheart muttered, "No…"_

"Is this true?" Gerin finally asked.

Marcus nodded. He gulped.

"Then don't tell anyone," Gerin told him, "Don't tell anyone. Although I'm with the military, I trust them as far as I can throw them. If you tell anyone else, then you might find your brain getting dissected."

"Really?"

"I have no idea what they do," Gerin muttered, "But it's best to keep this quiet."

Marcus nodded. Gerin decided to wrap up.

"We'll call it a day for now. Next time though, I want to discuss this in detail."

Marcus nodded and headed for the exit.

"_You have killed me," Allheart whispered in disbelief, "You have killed us."_

"_What are talking about?"_

"_I must now steer even more," Allheart sobbed, "And you must say yes. You must say yes! No matter what, you must say yes!"_

"_Say yes to what?"_

And then Allheart sent Marcus's mind reeling, spinning out of control.

_**We are grey.**_

"_I am grey," Allheart cried._

_**It is all over. The boy has failed… we have failed…**_

"_Marcus Twist, there is only one way for you to survive. Only one way for us all to survive. You must join the Decepticons."_

"_What? No way!"_

"_The plans are now rushing into motion. If you don't want to join the Decepticons, then YOU MUST SAY YES!"_

Marcus slipped out of consciousness.

_**We must show him.**_

_**We must.**_

_**We must make him realise.**_

_**But will it still work?**_

_**We must present to him the past and the future. Without visions, he is doomed.**_

_**Xanadu. What is unattainable, must show him what is attainable.**_

"_The mountain dark, has gleamed once more,__  
>And never will again.<em>_  
>All will be dust and perish with it,<em>_  
>And when it crumbles, so will you…<em>_  
>Join the noble brotherhood of the dead.<em>"

* * *

><p>The storm raged overhead, as it had done for hours. The sea rolled, waves as tall as trees crashed into one another, boats in the marina moved like puppets on a sole string.<p>

But out of the water, an inch at a time, a head appeared. Titanic in size, the body followed as it stepped onto the beach. It rose up, a red and blue silhouette, clutching a sword so bright in the darkness, it seemed to be blazing.

Optimus Prime looked up the Statue of Liberty, where Bludgeon stood triumphant at the top.

"Optimus," he growled, loud enough to be heard over the storm, "Come; face your annihilation."

Gripping the keyblade in hand, Optimus charged forward—

—And was tackled to the ground by a dark, horrifying shape, whose fangs dripped with malice. Hatchet tore the keyblade from Optimus's grasp, throwing it into the dark and his mouth closed around Optimus's throat…

But the Prime punched the Dread off of him, leaping to his feet and caught a charging Crowbar in the chin with a forceful uppercut. But a morningstar slammed into his back, causing him to scream with pain.

Crankcase drew another brutal morningstar off his back and swung it in a wide arc towards Optimus. The Autobot leapt back just in time, barrelling into Crowbar and sprawling the both of them. Crankcase leapt into the air and brought down the morningstar, smashing it into Optimus's shoulder and causing him to fall back even further.

Crowbar got to his feet and Hatchet prowled along the grass, while Crankcase grinned with sadistic intent.

Optimus readied his fists, but knew it was a doomed fight.

Something smashed into Crankcase's back, sending him crashing into the ground. Bumblebee came out of nowhere, socking Crowbar and kicking Hatchet away immediately after.

The two Autobots were back to back.

"Sorry, Optimus," Bumblebee muttered, "But I can't let your pig-headedness kill you again."

Optimus nodded.

"Let's take Bludgeon together," he decided.

Bumblebee nodded.

"Alright then…" he said, before switching to radio. "_3, 2, 1, let's jam!_"

Hatchet charged at them out of the darkness.

* * *

><p>Mindwipe crawled away, dragging himself with his remaining arm, as the sounds of battle echoed in the distance. He whimpered with every metre, pain and regret flowing through him.<p>

His optics were suddenly blocked by a pair of feet.

"Poor little Mindwipe…" a voice purred.

Mindwipe looked up at Fracture and muttered under his breath. Fracture grabbed him by the chin.

"You were almost Dread food," she whispered approvingly, "If not for your last-minute telepathic mind scramble to make Hatchet turn his attention to Reverb."

"His mind…" Mindwipe simpered, "Is like… clockwork. One… second… out of place… and the whole thing… fails."

"Through all of your mind control techniques, I wonder if your mind is the strongest of them all… or the weakest."

Mindwipe gave her a sickly grin. "Wouldn't you like to know…"

Fracture stiffened. Then she slammed her foot down on Mindwipe's hand, causing him to scream in pain.

"Don't try any of your tricks on me," she hissed, scratching her head, "I could actually feel you in there... how interesting."

She removed the foot. Mindwipe held his broken hand against his chest.

"I've come to bring you out," she muttered, "Soundwave's orders. But then again, I could just leave you here to rot… or kill you myself. He wouldn't notice with all these clouds…"

"I… can… bring you… Barricade…"

Fracture narrowed her optics. "How?" she asked, suspiciously.

"His mind… it's weak… too narrow-minded… very simple…"

"And you can bring him to me… defenceless?"

"All for your… damned… hunger… for killing."

Fracture nodded slowly. "But if I even think anything's up, you're worse than dead. You'll be a guest at my pleasure."

_I have her… foolish bitch._

"Of course…"

The forest was bathed in blue light.

* * *

><p>Irving looked at one image. Then he looked at the second. Then back at the first. Then at the second.<p>

The first showed Timothy Dalton, bedridden and blind, who had shouted with a voice filled with emotion that he knew nothing about Harbinger.

The second showed the very same man, accessing Diego Garcia's communications tower the day before it exploded, nearly taking Randall Irving with it.

_These can't be the same man…_

_They look exactly the same. Near identical…_

_Could it be a Decepticon pretender? A new prototype? Then why was Dalton interrogated by them?_

"Who's this?" asked a voice over Irving's shoulder.

The scientist looked up to see General Mason looking down with dull curiosity.

"A man," Irving said with reserved suspicion.

"Shocking. Who is he?" Mason asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Timothy Dalton. Recognise the name?"

Mason's brow furrowed.

"Wasn't he 007?"

"I haven't seen those films… sir."

"He was only in a couple. Not that great anyway."

"Yes, sir. Do you recognise the name 'Harbinger'?"

"…No."

Irving nodded and turned back to the photos. Mason gave Irving a rather reluctant pat on the shoulder.

"It's good to have you back, Randall," the general said, "Hopefully you can set up another one of those CVD things for that wonder kid."

"His name is Marcus, sir."

"I know his name. Much like you know the name Timothy Dalton. But names don't matter compared to how those names are used."

Irving frowned as General Mason moved away. He looked back to the photos and pondered deeply.

* * *

><p>Punch, kick, uppercut, slash, slice, stab. The Dreads came on, relentless. Despite Optimus and Bumblebee's attempts to stop them, the Decepticon assassins kept on coming.<p>

"Even if we beat these three," Bumblebee gasped as he pushed Crowbar away, "We'll face Bludgeon. And we'll lose."

Optimus knew he was right. Bludgeon was tougher than all three Dreads combined and if the two Autobots were stuck on these guys, they stood no chance against the Decepticon lieutenant.

Hatchet tore a chunk out of Optimus's arm. The Prime roared with pain and bludgeoned Hatchet over the head with the hilt of an axe.

"Try this on for size!" Bumblebee cried and threw an energon grenade towards the Dreads. It landed on Crowbar's shoulder, where it stuck. In a blind panic, the Decepticon used all his might to pull it off, before flinging it into the darkness. Everyone scrambled for cover as it detonated, exploding, illuminating the entire island in a huge blue and white inferno.

When Optimus raised his head from the mud-covered ground, there was a large, wet crater where the battle had taken place.

The Dreads, unharmed, charged across it towards them.

Optimus held his axe in both hands, tired beyond measure, and prepared for his final battle.

"It was an honour serving with you, Bumblebee," Optimus sighed. The plucky little Autobot nodded sagely.

The two of them awaited the charging, psychotic Decepticons.

Suddenly, a figure landed in front of both of them, clutching two energon revolvers.

He cocked them.

"Let's wrap this up," Sixshot muttered.

He fired several lasers, each one shooting across the ground, tripping Crankcase into the mud and sending Crowbar smashing into a burning tree. Hatchet leapt past the shots but got kicked in the head for his trouble. The three Dreads looked out of the wide crater.

"Anyone want trouble?" Sixshot asked, reloading, "You're gonna have to pay for it."

The three Decepticons faced off against the three Autobots. Crowbar and Hatchet looked ready to tear them apart, but Crankcase was their leader for a reason. He eyed the new arrival warily and realised that the odds were now stacked against them.

"Back to the forest," he hissed, "We can wait…"

The Dreads slunk out of the crater and slinked back into the woods.

Optimus and Bumblebee muttered sighs of relief. Sixshot sighed with degradation.

"How pathetic," he murmured, "They'll be back when we go for Bludgeon. They'll hit us in the rear."

There was silence. Optimus realised what he must do.

"I will face Bludgeon alone. You two should be able to hold the Dreads off long enough before the battle ends."

The other two Autobots did not fail to notice that Optimus did not explain who would win at battle's end.

"But I'll want one of those," Optimus muttered and pointed to one of Bumblebee's energon grenades.

The young Autobot looked up in shock. "Optimus… you're not thinking of…?"

"Let him think what he wants," Sixshot said. "And let him do as he wishes."

Bumblebee reluctantly handed out the explosive. "But you better come back, you hear me?" he muttered.

Sixshot grunted. "He always comes back. He's Optimus Prime. The only one who's allowed to kill him is Megatron."

Optimus nodded and moved towards the Statue of Liberty.

Bumblebee and Sixshot walked steadily into the crater.

"Come on then, you bastards!" Bumblebee cried, "Come and get us!"

"I would not normally invite the enemy towards us," Sixshot sighed, hefting his pistols, "But those guys need to die."

The Dreads roared out of the woods and charged into the crater.

Sixshot cocked the revolvers a second time.

* * *

><p>"Lord Megatron," Starscream reported, "It seems Bludgeon's caused quite a stir all over the place. The soldiers are muttering about how he is… most impressive in combat."<p>

Megatron looked bored. He fixed Starscream with a steely glare.

"And why is this news of importance?"

"Because some Decepticons are thinking that Bludgeon would make a better leader than you, my lord."

Starscream's frankness surprised Megatron, but he did not show it. "Bludgeon will not last the night. If they wish for a corpse leader, let them have him."

"A corpse leader won't matter when you are as silent as one."

"Watch your mouth, Starscream," Megatron growled, "Remember that I don't give second chances."

Starscream nodded hurriedly as another voice pierced the gloom.

"It is not Bludgeon who you should be concerned about," Soundwave muttered from somewhere in the shadows, "It is Harbinger."

No-one spoke. No-one moved.

"What is Harbinger?" Megatron questioned impatiently.

"I have no idea. Which is what makes it so dangerous. But from what I can gather, it is pulling all the strings across the Earth. I have never had such a blackout of information before."

"Curious. Why should we worry?"

"Because Harbinger has not yet made any direct moves. But I believe it is about to."

"Harbinger is immaterial," interrupted another, much darker, voice, "If it is human, then we can destroy it."

"Shockwave, your powers through logic are fallible. _If _it is human, then it can destroy _us_."

"It is not my logic that is fallible, Soundwave. The humans are only a threat if allied with the Autobots. From what you say, it seems that this Harbinger is working alone."

"Gentlemen," Starscream muttered sarcastically, "Discussing our concerns is monotonous and completely irrelevant. Soundwave; have you found anything on Harbinger?"

"…No."

"Shockwave; have you found anything on Harbinger?"

"No."

"Then we can do no more about Harbinger then we can turn back time; our very soldiers are the priority now."

"Indeed," Shockwave uttered, "With the exception of Astrotrain, Thundercracker and Barricade, all are voicing concerns over the Decepticon leadership."

Megatron scratched his chin with a clawed hand. He gazed steadily around the _Ark_'s bridge.

"It is a strategy to wait," he informed them, "I do not need simple grunts to evaluate me. We shall wait until the Earth factions destroy each other; Autobots, HARP, Harbinger, Answerers, whoever… they will wipe each other out. And we will pick up the pieces."

"It is a sound strategy, my lord," Shockwave conceded.

"Agreed," said Soundwave, his optics frowned in concentration.

But Starscream was not placated. "What of the soldiers? They are not happy, not happy with any of this! Hatchlings are stillborn in the tanks, the last of our spared Pillar energon is dissipating; all the Autobots need to do is wait _us _out!"

"They will not wait," Megatron growled, "They will fight. And they will die. Bludgeon is no more than a catalyst, speeding up all the plans in motion. His foolish attack on Earth is the sprouting of a seed that will rupture the very planet below."

Slowly, in the dark of the moon, the three commanders slipped out of audience and disappeared from the throne room.

Megatron sat on his throne and glowered at the darkness.

* * *

><p>Lightning illuminated everything.<p>

Bumblebee and Sixshot fought back to back, as the Dreads sliced and shot with their arsenal of wicked weaponry. Bumblebee's yellow was almost invisible, covered completely with mud, his blue optics shining with stoic belief in his last stand. Sixshot spun his revolvers, loosing shot after shot into the darkness.

Hatchet prowled around, his armour split and broken by laser blasts and plasma shots. Crowbar was missing his right arm, but in his left was a morningstar, covered in spikes and savage thorns, hiding in the trees, picking his moments to fight. Crankcase leapt and jumped out of the way of Sixshot's artillery, proving more than a match for the wayward vagabond.

But behind them, climbing an ideological emerald-coloured statue of towering height, Optimus Prime soldiered on up, bracing against foul winds and howling rain. In the flash from the lightning, he saw who stood atop Liberty herself.

Bludgeon stared down at Optimus Prime from the torch. In his right hand was a blazing katana, blue fire running down its length while in his right was his signature savage flail, covered with rotating, chainsaw spikes, capable of tearing apart diamond like tissue paper. He grinned, manic in his belief of a never-forgotten existence in the minds of those who both feared and respected him.

"HURRY OPTIMUS!" he thundered, "FOR THIS STORM WILL NOT LAST FOREVER! AND WHAT BETTER SETTING TO SMITE THE BLOODY CORPSE OF THE VERY LAST PRIME?"

Optimus gritted his teeth and continued up, one thick hand grabbing through the dirty copper after the other, every hand up straining what little strength he had left in his metallic muscles. The lightning passed and all was shrouded in darkness again.

But Optimus could see well enough and eventually found himself climbing up onto Liberty's left shoulder, his foot breaking the ponderous tome that represented hypocrisy for what she represented.

Autobot and Decepticon faced off. Bludgeon looked bemused while Optimus was filled with rage and determination.

"You killed Colonel William Lennox," Optimus growled.

Bludgeon frowned. And then his optics awakened with realisation.

Suddenly, he laughed. He laughed so long and hard and with such power, Optimus was stunned to realise that he was genuinely amused. Optimus felt the anger within him rise even further.

Bludgeon finally stopped and looked at Optimus, reappraising him.

"You know that one human's name," he growled, "Yet do not know the names of the thousands of others I have killed?"

Optimus was stunned into silence.

"Did he matter so much as a friend that revenge for him is worth more than revenge for all the others I've killed?" Bludgeon continued, "Truly Optimus, you do not deserve the title of Prime! Megatron seems to value life more than you!"

Optimus roared and charged from the shoulder, leaping the statue's head and bringing his sword down. Bludgeon met it with his own katana.

The storm exploded with ferocity as the two titans clashed.

Their swords met and sparks the size of camp fires exploded off of them.

"Foolish Autobot!" Bludgeon cried sadistically, "You care nothing for the many! It seems only your friends matter!"

Optimus brought down another blade, two weapons to match Bludgeon's two.

"All these humans you've made friends with," Bludgeon hissed as he swung his mace, "The boy, the colonel, the soldiers… no doubt you've thought of them often. But what of the civilians who hang above the red snow?"

Optimus leapt back from the swing and almost fell from the statue. He held on to the crown for support as Bludgeon descended on him with flail and sword.

"I bet you cared nothing for their lives," Bludgeon roared as he attacked inexorably, "You only cared for retribution, uncaring for those you were exacting it for. You cared only for the living you wanted to kill, not for the dead who you should've protected! They lie dead, not because of my instruments of destruction, but for your failure to successfully protect them!"

The flail wrapped around one of Optimus's keyblades and threw it into the storm. He brought down both weapons, forcing Optimus to his knees atop the statue's head. He pushed further downwards, his victory only inches from his enemy's face.

"You doomed them all, Optimus. What is HARP, if not to protect the humans? Is it to kill the Decepticons? Is that how narrow-minded you all are?

"PATHETIC!"

Pulling back, Bludgeon stabbed his blazing katana straight through Optimus's chest.

The Autobot could only gasp and let his keyblade fall from his grasp, spiralling down into the darkness.

Lightning roared through the night again, almost in mockery.

Bludgeon let go of the katana, letting it rest in the Prime's chest. He looked down in disgust.

"The last Prime. The last protector. And thanks to your actions, you doomed our race. You have also doomed the humans, although you will not live to see that. So… goodbye, Optimus Prime."

Bludgeon raised his demonic flail in both hands. His skull face was alight with triumph.

"May your soul rot forever in the Matrix."

He brought the flail down.

* * *

><p>Bludgeon looked down with surprise.<p>

A blade was blocking his flail's descent. He looked to its holder.

Intense emotions raged through those optics: regret, fury, hate, despair… resolve. He clambered fully onto the head of Liberty, his blades hovering above Optimus, protecting him.

"Bludgeon," he muttered.

"Sideswipe," Bludgeon sighed, "You have delayed Optimus's death by only a few minutes and only accelerated your own."

"You may kill me," Sideswipe whispered, "In fact, you will kill me. But I will die gladly; protecting the one person in existence I respect above all others."

Bludgeon stepped back up Liberty's right arm, allowing Sideswipe to step onto the shoulder.

"You respect him? How utterly blind of you, Sideswipe," Bludgeon muttered.

"Don't worry. I have not forgotten our sessions at the academy," Sideswipe replied, readying two sharp swords, "You're second place on the respect list."

Bludgeon roared and swung his flail in an arc, which Sideswipe ducked under and countered with two stinging stabs from his blade.

The arm of Liberty began to weaken, the copper straining and bending under the weight of the two cybertronians and the troch she bore.

They stabbed, slashed, swung, riposted, countered, parried, blocked, roared, kicked, punched, neither of them moving from their positions on the statue, rains pelting them and wind howling through the gale.

Optimus barely noticed them. His optics were filled with blue fire.

_I… must… continue…_

_W-What's… the point?_

_I… will… lose…_

_I… am… dying…_

He looked to where Bludgeon and Sideswipe duelled, two fencers in their prime, a whirling tornado, a ballet of steel, a last dance atop the world.

He looked to the sword in his chest.

_I…_

_Who… am… I?_

His arms tried to move, but it was as if they didn't exist.

_Who… am I?_

He tried to wail, to moan in protestation. But his voice was gone, lost somewhere in the hurricane that enveloped them.

_Who am I?_

The flail smashed into Sideswipe's right leg, obliterating it. The Autobot fell to his knees.

"I was wrong," Bludgeon growled, "It only took two."

_I am…_

_I… am…_

_Who. Am. I?_

With near omnipotent resolve and impossible strength, Optimus's hands moved towards the katana's hilt.

Bludgeon smashed the flail into Sideswipe's face, snapping his neck and tearing off half his head. His limp body fell from the statue to fall over a hundred feet below.

"You were one of the few who gave me a fight," Bludgeon muttered in respect, "Go find your fate in the Matrix." He turned to look at Optimus Prime.

Optimus, still kneeling atop the head, held the katana in one hand, still rippling with fire.

Bludgeon let off a gravely, haunting laugh.

Optimus threw the sword.

It flew straight and true, splitting the rain, erasing it to steam, and sliced through Bludgeon's hand before impaling itself in Liberty's torch. It stuck firm and Bludgeon roared in pain.

Liberty's right arm began to creak and snap.

Bludgeon, furious, grabbed the sword by the hilt to pull it out.

Something on the hilt stuck to his free hand. He looked at it.

It was an energon grenade.

"No…" he whispered, damning realisation dawning.

The arm broke and cracked.

"No!" he cried out pathetically.

Then the arm gave way. It snapped completely off Lady Liberty.

With one hand impaled to the torch and the other holding a most deadly object, Bludgeon fell with it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed as he fell all the way down.

Both arm and Decepticon smashed into the ground far below.

A second later, an explosion obliterated them. Fire roared up into the air in a huge inferno, destroying everything it could reach. It spread outwards, throwing Bumblebee and the Dreads clear of the island and into the bay. Sixshot dug his feet into the ground and weathered the storm.

In one immensely painful second, Bludgeon was torn apart and reduced to smouldering ashes.

His flail, blackened and blunt, rested in the mud.

* * *

><p>But the rain kept coming and the fires dwindled, before dying down completely.<p>

Optimus sat against the head of freedom and gazed up at the black clouds.

_I am Optimus Prime. And that was for __**everyone **__you killed._

And, without a sound, he slipped off the statue.

He fell through the wind and rain and smashed into the ground below.

The Battle of New York was over.


	28. The Battle of Glass Tears

Oh man. I'm really tired; the Easter holidays sucked up all of my writing time! :O

Oh well; thanks again to Megan666 and Answerthecall for your recent reviews! Although I've seem to have used up all my 'Bold' typeface for a profanity further down...

* * *

><p>"<em>Fourteen-point-oh-zero-seven…<em>"

"_Nine-eighteen-four-zero-three…_"

"_Seventy-one-twelve-point-one-two_…"

_Everything is mine._

"_And now Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Denmark and other European countries are adding to the aid support…_"

"_Never before in history has slaughter on this scale been recorded…_"

"_Millions dead…_"

_Knowledge is power._

"_AND SO I SAY NO MORE! THE AUTOBOTS MUST BE SENT FROM EARTH! TOO MANY DEATHS HAVE BEEN __CAUSED__ BY THE DECEPTICONS!_"

"_But if the Autobots go, who will beat the Decepticons next time?_"

"_If the Autobots go, there may not be a next time._"

_The world is my board…_

"_If this happens again, martial law may be the only appropriate response…_"

…_And yet not one word on Harbinger. One agent in nearly a year… and he had nothing._

A spiny, sly creature entangled itself from the satellite and rested on Soundwave's shoulder.

"Master?" Laserbeak asked, "Is there something troubling you?"

"We are standing on the edge," Soundwave replied, "Of a precipice. A great battle is coming, that will shame Bludgeon's petulant act and spell our end."

"You are sure of this?"

"No. But I am sure Harbinger will initiate it."

"Still nothing on this… thing?"

"You have done little to help," Soundwave muttered icily, "Problems in Audi Sarabia are turning up. Your new puppet is nearly as bad as the old one, executions in the streets, a remilitarised army…"

"What's the problem with that?"

"It does not help us get one step closer to the mastermind behind all of this."

Laserbeak nervously ruffled his wings. Soundwave did not fail to notice it and narrowed his optics.

"You doubt what I say?"

"No, master. Just… why does this Harbinger matter? It has not interfered with our plans before… why would it now?"

Soundwave frowned.

"I thought I had taught you better than this, Laserbeak," Soundwave muttered, "Whatever Harbinger has planned, it has kept those plans impossibly quiet. If those plans are unknown, then they can be dangerous; we cannot risk anything. We need to know everything we can about Harbinger."

Laserbeak grunted. "It's not as if it can reach you out here…"

"If I can reach to the planet below, those on the planet can reach to me above."

"I doubt that," Laserbeak snorted dismissively, "You're the most powerful Decepticon of them all; you know everything."

Soundwave frowned harder.

"Except Harbinger."

Laserbeak, realising this conversation was heading nowhere, leaped off Soundwave's shoulder and flew down to Earth. Soundwave watched him go.

_Knowledge is power. If that is the case, then I am king._

_But a king is nothing without his subjects._

His gaze looked out over the Topaz Mountain.

_The time has come._

_This must end._

_Today._

"_Dispatch, a yellow Camaro and a Harley Davidson just shot past, chasing after three black Chevrolet SUVs heading west on I-80…_"

* * *

><p><span>Episode 28: The Battle of Glass Tears<span>

_Wake your reason's hollow vote  
>Wear your blizzard season coat<br>Burn a bridge and burn a boat  
>Stake a Lizard by the throat<em>

—**Prince Rupert Awakes**

* * *

><p><strong>Interview Session #4: Water will always be thicker than blood.<strong>

"Allheart," Gerin asked, "That's the name of this creature within your mind?"

Marcus nodded dismally. His skin was tight, weary, great black bags beneath his eyes. He looked like he hadn't had sleep since birth.

"The Allspark was nothing more than a cube that spread life; a literal Mother Nature. Why is this Allheart aggressive and mad?"

"He says that the sliver of life within that single shard was not sentient," Marcus murmured, "Until it encountered my brain. There, it took the human soul and tore it apart, twisted it around, ripped it to shreds… then stitched it back together and was 'born' out of what it had taken. Apparently, that Sam Witwicky guy suffered the same thing back in Egypt but died before it manifested completely. When he was resurrected, the Allspark's power had faded into the Matrix."

"And what is Allheart's power?"

"He… he says he's omnipotent."

Gerin laughed at that. "If he was omnipotent, why's he stuck in your mind?"

"_Sharp bitch," Allheart muttered._

"_Shut up."_

"Listen Marcus; this Allheart creature seems like a bit of an idiot. Ignore him. No doubt he interrupts these interviews as much as he probably talks to himself."

"_I will murder her," Allheart hissed._

Marcus smiled as Allheart felt his control slipping away into nothingness.

"_Do not forget, Marcus," Allheart whispered, hatred spilling through him, "I own the night. And you will regret walking that sewer for the rest of your short, pathetic life."_

"_Shut. Up."_

Gerin looked carefully at Marcus. She decided, suddenly. Placing her clipboard down, she said suddenly;

"Marcus, what is life to you?"

Marcus raised his eyebrows in mock horror. "Do I have to be asked such philosophically endearing questions?"

"I assumed that your outlook on life would be as good as your recent punctuation."

"Well… I dunno. I don't believe in that fate crap; and you can't predict things, not to a certainty. I never really thought about God or any of that stuff. Really… I don't know. I can't think that far ahead."

Gerin nodded, understanding. "Well… I believe life is like a river."

"A river? How so?"

"You start off as a trickle, slipping and sliding over rocks, born out of the Earth that you will forever live upon. But then you grow in size, from a trickle to a stream, from a stream to a fully-fledged river. You make your way into the world. But there'll be waterfalls and dams, and you need to do everything you can to flow past or completely drown. Deltas, rivers that represented a different choice you could have made, split off but never reach anywhere. In the end, no matter how hard the rains fall or how hard the sun beats down upon you, you shall reach the ocean; the same ocean every other river must flow into. You must flow with the river and allow it to take you where it will."

Marcus thought about this for a few seconds. "What about the rivers that don't reach the ocean?"

"They were lives that never knew, or cared for, where they were going. Do you care where you end up?"

"Yeah…"

"Where?"

"I guess… after this war is won and the Decepticons are gone, I guess I'll go with Stacy and head back home."

"And where is home?"

Marcus smiled. "Wherever we're happy."

"That's a beautiful dream, Marcus. But it is still only a dream; where will you go if it falters?"

"Wherever the river takes me."

Gerin smiled in return. "Excellent, Marcus, excellent."

"_You make me sick," Allheart muttered, "Blind and doomed. Let your river carry you Marcus, and let it drown you in a whirlpool of despair."_

"_I never knew you were a poet. You need to tell me this shit later, when I can write it down. We could make millions."_

"_Be careful, Twist. Be very fucking careful."_

"But I'm afraid I have some bad news," Gerin murmured sadly. "The thing is…"

"What is it?"

"I'm leaving soon. Back to France; I've been transferred to a European HARP base."

Marcus felt his heart suddenly sink, twisted cruelly by some horrible deity. He couldn't believe it; one of the last remaining people to genuinely care about him… leaving? Forever?

"B-But, but you can't!" Marcus exclaimed, "You can't just leave… not now! You said we had one more interview after this one!"

"I'm afraid that one's been cancelled," Gerin muttered miserably, "And there's nothing I can do about it. But… it's been fun, hasn't it? I have to say, Marcus, the interviews with you have been the most enjoyable talks I've had in ages…"

"B-But," Marcus protested weakly, his eyes filling with tears, "What about Allheart? What am I supposed to do with this… thing in my head? I need help!"

"I've helped all I can," Gerin said in a small voice, "Just don't worry. I have some friends across the water. I can get them to help you and Allheart."

"But…" and Marcus found he had run out of things to say. He simply stared up at Gerin's beautiful face, at a loss for words and happiness.

At once, Gerin pulled him into a hug. Marcus felt a tear roll down his cheek.

"Don't worry Marcus. Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry…"

* * *

><p>"We are the night."<p>

The other two ignored him. But they were actually appreciative of his voice; anything to take their minds off the pursuit.

"And, out here, it looks like night's never touched this place. This place has been wrecked by the sun."

"Shut the fuck up, Crowbar," Crankcase hissed. "Don't waste energy."

The three Dreads struck a route across the salt plains of Utah, nothing but white ground for miles and miles in every direction. The wheels beat hard upon the ground, throwing up sparks, the tires having degraded long ago.

"I hate the sun," Crowbar whispered defiantly.

Suddenly, without warning, Hatchet transformed, turned around and planted his clawed feet firmly in the salt.

"Screw this," he hissed, "I'm standing my ground. Let those miserable Autobots catch us; we'll kill them."

"The yellow one outmatches two of us," Crankcase muttered, "While the silver one outmatches all of us. Three against five are not good odds."

"Screw the odds," Hatchet snarled, crazy, "I want to taste their flesh!"

"Calm down," Crankcase hissed, "We should be able rendezvous with—"

"Screw Soundwave and screw you! I want to crush their frail, little Autobot bodies between my teeth—"

"There they are," Crowbar said. He pointed out towards the east.

Two clouds of dust approached. The Autobots were hidden behind a mirage of haze and heat.

Crankcase sighed and cocked a blaster. "Missiles early, follow up rounds accurate. Break their backs."

The three Dreads stood their ground.

And waited.

* * *

><p>"What the hell's happened to us?" Arcee whispered in horror as she looked over Sideswipe's body. "When did we become so weak?"<p>

"No-one's immortal, Arcee," Ratchet told her sombrely from where he worked on Optimus Prime. "Sideswipe's proving to be very resilient to his own mortality, but I'm afraid that he will no doubt pass away tonight."

"And now, with Optimus lying stricken," Mirage hissed, "Bumblebee and Sixshot are racing halfway round the world to chase down some Decepticon punks! All this… this is just sickening."

"They've even got those mockeries of us in that other hangar!" Arcee roared with fury, "'Landmine'? What kind of sick joke is this?"

"Arcee, please calm down," Kaminari asked from where she was welding parts of Optimus's head back on.

"This is bullshit!" Arcee continued, rage pumping like energon through her veins, "Everyone's split up, dying left and right, FOR WHAT?"

Mirage quickly grabbed her shoulders and steered the emotional wreck out of the hangar. She shivered slightly, before staring up at the night.

Millions of stars shone down on them. But their eyes had already mapped the heavens out before and they knew every star from every giant. They had visited half of them anyway.

"It was so much simpler when everyone was alive," Arcee whispered.

"Simpler? The word you're looking for is 'better'. Proud Cybertron was the brightest star in the sky."

"The problem with being the brightest," Arcee reflected dismally, "Is that your shadow is the tallest."

"But wasn't it good while it lasted?" Mirage asked. "That light? Surely it's worth enduring the dark if only to have the light?"

"Back then, I would've have said yes. But here, my family dead and my friends dying, the dark seems so much more memorable than the light."

"Sideswipe will be okay. This happened to me in Tibet."

"In Tibet you were blown up and your limbs pulverised. Anything with a carapace could survive that. Sideswipe's head is barely attached to his body, connected only by the fragments of a shattered spine. Even if he miraculously recovers, he won't ever walk, let alone fight, again."

The two of them became quiet, staring up at the stars.

"Against the night, the stars look so small."

"But there's millions of them."

"But the darkness is infinite. You could fit a trillion stars into space and not fill up anything. There wouldn't be anything to fill."

Mirage was silent for a moment. Then;

"This war has to end. And not with a victory."

Arcee looked up at him.

"You mean…"

"A truce. A full stop to the fighting. No more deaths; no more losses."

"That truce is far too late in the making; we've lost so many."

"But there's still many more to lose; we shouldn't dwell on the past dead but rather the living future. These humans… I was arrogant enough to believe them inferior to us… to me. But I learned on that freezing mountainside that there really was no such thing as superiority or inferiority. Just… the living and the dead. I lived through it. The humans with me did not. So know I try to keep as many with me, to help them through another day, so that they can sleep in the night… and wake in the morning."

Arcee looked back to the stars. She gazed up with mystic sorrow.

"If morning comes."

* * *

><p>Ratchet looked up from his work to see General Mason striding into the hangar atop a second-floor gantry.<p>

_Here we go…_

"Ratchet!" Mason exclaimed, "As Optimus is currently not in a position to receive orders, you're the de facto leader of the Autobots. I want a status report, now."

"Well…" Ratchet began, but stopped suddenly. He looked up at the excessively large general with a growing loathing.

"Well what?" Mason spat.

"Well," Ratchet muttered, rage beginning to fuel his words. "There is not an asshole in this world big enough to cram your status report up."

Kaminari nearly fell off Optimus Prime in shock. The whole room of scientists, soldiers and medics looked up, stunned.

Mason stared at Ratchet with a mix of surprise and absolute fury.

"Sideswipe's going to die," Ratchet hissed, "Bumblebee and Sixshot are running around America, ignorant of everyone else! Optimus lies here like a vegetable! And the only other two Autobots who can actually fight are emotional wrecks! It would be at this point that I would point out that the Wreckers are completely fine and ready for combat duty… if you hadn't arrested them, causing them to break out and roam this planet as rogues! Did I miss anything out you blustering… IDIOT!"

There was deathly silence. Kaminari looked at the enraged Ratchet with a mix of appreciation and admiration.

But there was something sinister about the silence. It occurred to Ratchet that Mason hadn't shouted in return.

The general looked down at him from the gantry, his face neither red with rage nor his face blowing up with fury. He calmly looked down at Ratchet in the same way a vulture looks into the eyes of its meal before feasting on its already dead flesh.

"I am about to walk down this gantry," Mason informed him, "And each step is a shit I don't give about what you say to me."

He began to walk down the gantry, each step on the metal surface sounding like a thunderbolt in the silent hangar. He walked down the gantry, his steps echoing across the room, down the metal steps to the ground and finally walked past the body of Optimus Prime to look up at Ratchet. Ratchet looked down and the first feelings of unease began to filter through his rage.

Mason stopped in front of him. His eyes were small and baleful.

"How many steps did I take?" he asked in a small voice. No-one else in the hangar heard him except Ratchet, whose audio receptors could pick up a frog croaking a kilometre away.

Ratchet thought about answering with the logical and correct numerical value. But he didn't.

"Enough for me to get your point," he answered, enraged.

"How many steps did I take?" he reiterated, loud enough for the hangar to hear.

"One hundred and twelve."

"One hundred and twelve."

There was silence between the two. It stretched out. Nearly everyone else in the hangar would have wanted to be somewhere else or, preferably, dead.

"One hundred and twelve shits I don't give about what you say to me," Mason near-whispered, and everyone could tell he was building up to a tirade. "Now do you want to know how many shits I don't give about you and your robotic alien buddies?"

"I'm begging to find out," Ratchet hissed.

"ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE TO THE POWER OF **FUCK YOU**!" Mason exploded with the force of Olympus Mons erupting, "I AM A GENERAL YOU MISERABLE ALIEN FUCK! I COMMAND TROOPS TO DO SHIT AND THEY WILL DO SHIT, WITHOUT QUESTION! AND NOW, WITH ALL YOUR BUDDIES EITHER DEAD, HEAVILY INJURED, EMOTIONALLY APOCALYPTIC OR JUST PLAIN 'NOT HERE', YOU THINK OF GIVING ME INSUBORDINATION? FUCK YOU RATCHET, YOU PATHETIC LITTLE CREATURE! WITH A FLICK OF MY WRIST I CAN SEND YOU TO THE JUNKYARD AND USE THE MONEY I'D MAKE OFF YOUR SCRAP TO BUY SOME LOYAL SOLDIERS! DO NOT DOUBT THAT! NOW THE NEXT TWO WORDS I WANT TO HEAR OUT OF YOU ARE 'YES SIR'! _DO YOU UNDERSTAND_?"

The echoes of the general's tirade finally faded out in China, leaving the world in deathly silence of what Ratchet would do.

In his whole life, Ratchet had never truly been enraged. The war had angered him to be sure. Soldiers like Starscream and Barricade turning on their true colours had made him angry. Watching the planet disappear in their ship's viewing portal had made him both angry and sad.

And yet this little plump creature in front of him had made him so enraged, he thought of doing the one thing he hated most in the universe.

"Yes sir," he growled, and raised his foot to crush General Mason.

Almost immediately, near-everyone in the hangar drew guns and aimed them at Ratchet. Even Kaminari, who drew an EMP device and aimed it squarely at Ratchet's face. Arcee and Mirage came thundering in and soon there was a whole mass of weaponry being pointed around the room.

Mason looked up at Ratchet with a small smile and a low chuckle.

"Go on, Ratchet," he uttered, "Step on me. Let the pacifist kill me. Come on, I'm begging you. I just want to see the result while striking my golden harp."

Ratchet stared down with unmatched wrath. General Mason slowly moved a finger to his right ear and tapped it.

"You hear that?"

Despite their situation, everyone perked up their ears and audio receptors.

There was a sound like distant thunder.

"That's the sound of our USAF reinforcements," Mason told Ratchet, "If you crush me, expect this base to pulverised off the map along with your precious alien friends. Two AC-130s and a couple of F-35 wings should do the trick. So crush me. Go. Ahead."

And so Ratchet, overcome with emotions, did.

He dropped his foot down on top of General Mason—

—But it was caught. Something grasped Ratchet's foot just inches from its target.

Ratchet looked down at the hand. It was connected to Optimus Prime's arm.

The Prime looked at him with disappointed optics and, very slowly, shook his head.

Ratchet, with mixed emotions running through him, turned and fled from the hangar. Mirage and Arcee quickly followed.

Optimus slipped back out of consciousness. Mason gazed at his immobile body.

The room relaxed. Kaminari withdrew her weapon and glared at the general.

"Optimus just saved your life, sir," she said with cold anger, "I would advise you to remember that, sir."

Mason had done his day's shouting. He simply gave Kaminari a hideous little smile.

"I just saved my life, you mean," he said smugly, before striding towards the exit, every disdainful eye upon him.

* * *

><p>"They're standing their ground," Sixshot informed him.<p>

Bumblebee peered hard as they drove. So they were.

"They'll open fire in a couple of minutes," Sixshot said, "You ready?"

"I've been ready for aeons. I've beaten 'cons a lot bigger than me. I blew Soundwave's brains out in Chicago."

"Shame they didn't stay like that."

"You're telling me," Bumblebee chuckled. "Hey, Sixshot, where were you in the war?"

"Epsilon Sigma."

Bumblebee looked at him in surprise.

"You were way out there? Why?"

"I was one of the explorers, sent out to find sentient life. But an object flying at superluminal speeds knocked me off course and unconscious. When I came to, I flew back to Cybertron… but I was far too late.

"Seeing your planet dead and covered with corpses is not an easy thing to see. Shockwave was the ruling monarch there, so I had no choice but get press-ganged into the Decepticon military."

"You were a Decepticon?" Bumblebee asked edgily.

"Yeah. But things happened on that planet I'd rather not recall. I left the Decepticons after blowing several holes in them. I escaped to the stars and decided to log as many uncharted planets as I could, in accordance with my original assignment. Eventually, I found my way here. I met a human who's an explorer as well. He's cool."

"You mean the jackass in the stupid coat?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yes, that's of course what I meant to say."

Several missiles impacted into the ground around them.

"Time to go to work," Bumblebee announced, swerving and dodging.

"This place is beautiful, don't you think?" Sixshot asked as he leaped over an explosion.

"You mean this boring plain, or the Earth?"

"Both."

Bumblebee rolled around another explosion. He thought about it.

"Yeah. It is."

And then they were smashing into the Dreads in a whirlwind of twisted metal.

* * *

><p>Cunningham looked through the binoculars once more from the Topaz Mountain.<p>

"So now the Autobots and the humans are beating each other up? It's like fucking Christmas down here."

"Yes sir," replied his lieutenant.

"Get the stockings up, lieutenant, and pray you're on the good list."

"P-Pardon, sir?"

"It was a joke lieutenant, relax."

"Yes sir."

"I wonder how Commander Eisenhower is getting on."

"I don't think he's engaged the aliens, sir."

Cunningham nodded and peered through the binoculars again.

_Divide and conquer. It's the oldest trick of them all. All we have to do is wait and let them tear themselves apart._

_The Topaz Mountain sees all._

* * *

><p>Resting on one of the office building's balconies, Marcus Twist was miserable.<p>

_Gerin's leaving, the Autobots are upset, I'm upset, everyone in the world's upset over New York… the Decepticons must be getting a kick out of this. All they're doing is waiting. What a dirty, underhanded tactic._

"_But extremely effective," Allheart hissed, "Almost as effective as doing all you can."_

"_And what are you doing?"_

"_Waiting."_

"_For what?"_

"_For you to go to sleep."_

"_Why? What stupid visions will you put in my head?"_

"_None. That's the point; I'll let you have the nicest sleep you've ever had."_

"…_Why?"_

"_Because it'll the last one you ever have."_

"_Wow. I'm not even believing in your crazy bullshit anymore."_

"_Fine then, don't believe. The outcome will still be the same."_

Marcus looked up at the stars.

"_Who built you?" he asked._

"_What?"_

"_You were a huge cube. Who created the cube?"_

"_No-one did. We are the primordial life. Everything began from us, everything is a part of us, everything _is _us."_

"_Yawn. That's a load of bullshit too."_

"_You imbecile. You cannot even understand the magnitude of our impact on life!"_

"_Listen, if you are the… thing that created everything, I would expect you to be a little more… magnanimous. And not a filthy-mouthed little demon."_

"_Sometimes you go a bit batty, being immortal. And you go even crazier trying to achieve immortality."_

"_So it's good to die?"_

"_No. Dying and living forever are as bad as each other."_

"_Oh wow. Looks like my future's going to be great."_

_Allheart looked at him with loathing._

"_You still don't understand."_

"_You never explain anything."_

"_You still don't understand the magnitude of death. It is the one thing I cannot decipher in my infinite libraries of all life."_

"_You're scared of death?"_

"_It is the only thing I'm scared of."_

"_Well… you know what one of our wise men once said?"_

"_Of course I would know. After all, you've given me a clear and precise picture of who that wise man is and what he said."_

_Marcus groaned. "Your sarcasm's as ugly as your face."_

"_Whatever. What'd he say?"_

"_To conquer death, you only have to die."_

_Allheart mulled that over._

"_What a dumb outlook on death," he concluded._

"_Never mind."_

"You gazing up at the stars?" Stacy asked, coming up beside him.

"Yeah. And going insane. It's a real blast."

"Don't say stuff like that," she chided, lightly punching his arm, "You're perfectly sane."

"For today, at least," said Ryder, also joining them.

"_A fool's company," Allheart groaned._

"But then again," Ryder muttered, "I did see you sleepwalking last night."

"I was?" Marcus exclaimed.

"_Oh fuck."_

"What was I doing?" Marcus pressed.

Ryder looked at him as if he was a monkey. "Sleep. Walking," he said in the precise tones of an adult condescendingly pestering a child.

"So what if he was!" Stacy said, throwing an arm around Marcus's neck, "At least he's more popular than you!"

"Popularity is a word found in my dictionary of shits not given."

"That reminds me," Marcus remembered, "Did you hear the roaring General Ballsack made?"

"Yeah. I have to admit, I'm probably going to do the 'shits not given steps' insult to someone in future. That was a pretty good one for him."

"The point still stands," Stacy interrupted, "Ryder has as many friends as he does good clothes."

"In that case, I'm surprised I'm not the messiah reborn," Ryder said with a shrug.

"You actually think those clothes make you cool?"

"They make me look human. That's good enough."

"I've never even seen you with a girl."

"That's because there's a distinct lack of those my age wherever we go."

"Then again, you might not like girls…"

Ryder looked at her through the sunglasses. "The truth of the matter is, both boys and girls interest me in the same way this war does. Not one fucking bit."

"Oh, so you got a thing for robots then," Stacy worked out while Marcus stifled a guffaw, "You have been getting close to that Sixshot guy."

"I only talk with Sixshot because he doesn't have the mind of a mentally-handicapped rabbit. If you think I have a 'thing' for titanic alien war machines, I'd highly advise you not to call Marcus insane until you look in a mirror."

"I never called him insane!"

"You're halfway there. Now go look in a mirror."

Marcus shook his head. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he cried melodramatically.

"Well at least you're not moping," Ryder said and stretched his arms out, yawning, "It's going to be a hell of a day tomorrow."

"How?"

"I've got a feeling people will be dying."

"Oh come on, that's not fair," Marcus cried, "You two were just cheering me up!"

"Sorry kid, but the truth's hard to face."

"It's not the truth," Stacy said hotly, "No-one's dying tomorrow."

Ryder yawned again. "Yet again, it has been an absolutely woeful experience to have my intelligence degraded by your company. I'm turning in. Problem is, I may not wake up tomorrow."

Stacy waved her arms in the air. "The mysterious Ryder, who's got more bullshit in his mouth than under his coat, dramatically calls it a day!"

Ryder tapped Marcus on the head. "Just remember little guy, there's nothing to fear _in here_."

And then he turned and walked away.

Just then several planes whooshed overhead.

"Looks like some Air Force reinforcements have arrived," Marcus noted, "Those guys better not die like the last several hundred…"

"Marcus, look…"

Marcus followed Stacy's finger towards the hangar where all the commotion had taken place.

Optimus Prime was getting up.

* * *

><p>Kick, punch, slice, stab, kick, punch, slice, stab…<p>

The battle raged.

An even plain, uneven numbers.

Sixshot smashed an uppercut into Crankcase's chin, sending him flying backwards, before completing a roundhouse kick on Hatchet, which tripped the beast. Bumblebee charged forward, blowing a hole in Crowbar's side before following up with a left hook, breaking his jaw.

The Dreads fell back, having lost the round.

"We can do this all day," Crankcase spat, venomously.

"We can do this all year," Sixshot replied, twirling his revolvers. "Who's next?"

An explosion tore up the ground between the two sides. Both Dreads and Autobots turned to the north.

Several armoured vehicles were rolling through the salt plains, firing cannons and missiles.

"It seems you've brought your human friends to help," Crankcase hissed.

A shell smashed into Bumblebee's chest, sending him sprawling backwards into the salt.

"Not our friends," Sixshot muttered, halting in the spinning of his guns.

Several more shells shot past them, detonating a way behind them. Sixshot and Crankcase found each other's optics.

"How about we resume our fight until after these guys are dealt with?" Sixshot asked.

Crankcase grimaced in disgust, but knew his team could not hope to fight both the Autobots and the humans at the same time.

"Fine," he hissed, transformed and shot across the salt, the two other Dreads following.

Sixshot pulled Bumblebee back to his feet and tapped him on the noggin.

"You awake?" he rudely questioned.

"W-What happened?" Bumblebee asked, in a daze.

"We're teaming up with the Dreads to take down some humans. You in?"

Bumblebee stared at Sixshot with apprehension and horror.

A missile exploded, too close.

"Fine," he muttered, "But we're killing those bastards afterwards, right?"

"Oh yes. I've already prepared three house-sized wooden boxes for our return. That'll fit them."

"Or they'll fit us," Bumblebee said and shot off through the salt plains.

Sixshot was not far behind.

* * *

><p>"Commander Eisenhower!" a major roared, "The five of them are charging us!"<p>

"Shit."

Five vehicles, three similar, two completely out of place on the Utah landscape, were heading straight towards them. Fifteen tanks and twenty IFVs kept firing away, Eisenhower atop one of them.

"I thought these guys were mortal enemies," Eisenhower hissed. "And now they're teaming up?"

"I think we should have waited until a side had won!" the major voiced, much to Eisenhower's annoyance.

"It seems they can put away some grudges for aliens," Eisenhower muttered, ignoring his aide completely.

"Sir?" the major continued to pester, "Should we continue firing?"

"What do you think—?" but Eisenhower cut himself off. "Actually, they might stop if we stop. Give the order major."

A couple of seconds later, all was silent.

With the exception of the five vehicles that kept on coming.

"Uh, sir…?"

Eisenhower frowned.

The five vehicles kept on coming. They showed no signs of stopping.

"Sir?"

Eisenhower frowned harder.

Behind his hood, Crankcase grinned.

"OPEN FIRE!" the commander roared.

* * *

><p>It did not last long.<p>

Sixshot and Bumblebee leapt into the air and transformed, lasers and rockets propelling straight into the mass of armoured artillery. Tanks exploded and flames turned skin to ash and organs to steam. The Dreads didn't even bother with any weaponry, charging straight into the group of tanks like a triumvirate of runaway trains. The lumbering tanks and other assorted armour couldn't get out of the way in time and so were flung around overworked puppets. They smashed into each other, exploded, men screaming as they were torn apart by both flame and fist.

But, to their credit, they fought back.

Hatchet took the worst of it, a missile to the throat. Fire burned up and down his neck in a sensation similar to choking, while a hind leg was crushed under some treads. Bumblebee was blown back by another shell, falling into an exploding tank, as fires raged all around them. Crowbar's jaw was finally sent spinning from his mouth after Eisenhower lodged a sabot round in his cheek. The Dread replied in kind by crushing the Answerer in his fist.

It was over pretty quickly.

Bumblebee paced through the burnt wreckage, the sun helping to fuel the fires that raged on the plains. He looked around in slight disgust.

"What were they even doing here? What was the point in this?"

"To provoke you."

The five cybertronians turned.

Standing among the wreckage, arms crossed with a sinister look, was Soundwave.

The Dreads quickly retreated behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Bumblebee asked, his right arm becoming a cannon.

"I do not wish to waste any more time or lives in this debacle," Soundwave informed him, "So here it is; I wish to offer you and the rest of the Autobots a truce."

The Dreads looked up at the Decepticon commander in shock. The Autobots did likewise.

"A truce," Sixshot muttered, "This is highly suspicious."

"No it isn't," Soundwave argued, "Look around you. This is the machination of a force far greater than you. Pieces are moving into place. People are readying themselves for a grand finale to this war."

"Explain," Bumblebee insisted hotly.

"The corpses you've helped create were part of a highly-militarised group known as the Answerers. I've had tabs on them for a long time, but until now have not given me cause for alarm. They are the result of what happened to the Initiative a few years ago; this is the genesis of that group. But I know everything about them and know how to beat them. There's just one problem…"

"Us?" Bumblebee guessed.

"No. Harbinger."

"As if that name means anything," Sixshot said, "What's Harbinger?"

"Whatever Harbinger is, I believe it's in cohesion with the Answerers. In what way or in what context I have not discovered. All I know is that Harbinger is powerful, unknown and extremely influential. I believe it will be making its move soon; this is why I wish to call a truce, so that we can both prepare for this threat and hopefully combat it together."

"How will Harbinger attack us?" Bumblebee asked.

"Unknown."

"When will Harbinger attack us?"

"Unknown."

"Then how do you know it will attack us?"

"I have my sources. Most of them wrong, yet the ones who were right did not live long enough to divulge their full information. One human I have tracked all the way to your HARP base has left a trail of dead witnesses behind him; that man knows more about Harbinger than anybody and Harbinger has made sure that no-one else does. Interrogate him if you wish, it should not take you long to work out who he is."

There was silence.

"This truce," Bumblebee murmured steadily, "Can't be decided by us. We need to confer with Optimus…"

"Optimus is lying bed stricken," Soundwave said with a grin, "And I will not return without an answer, _now_."

"No need to worry," Sixshot muttered, "We accept your truce. Bumblebee, let's get out of here."

Without another word, Sixshot transformed and charged off, leaving Bumblebee to flounder and quickly follow.

"Megatron really called for a truce?" Crankcase asked in wonder.

"No," Soundwave said.

"I did."

* * *

><p>"<em>Their pathetic truce won't save them," Allheart murmured, "They will all die. And unless you say yes, so will you."<em>

_Marcus sat in a corner of the darkness, his back turned to the creature._

"_What's so bad about death?" Marcus asked. "Death comes to us all. To one of your immortal presence, I'd thought death would entice you!"_

_There was an uncharacteristic silence. Marcus turned around curiously._

_Allheart stared at him. He wasn't grinning. His two, huge, white eyes penetrated Marcus's soul._

"_Death does come to us all," he whispered. "But why is that a good thing?"_

"_It's unavoidable. We live, we die. That's it. It's not bad, it's not good. It just is."_

"_Oh really?" Allheart snarled, "How narrow-minded and ignorant you are!"_

"_Oh, so you're saying there's a hell then?" Marcus replied, a grin appearing on his face, "That means I'm pretty safe, but you're not! No wonder you're so angry!"_

"_You fool! There is no afterlife! I've been among so many countless civilisations, watched them grow and die, watched them make up their own religions around me to know THERE IS NO AFTERLIFE!"_

_Marcus crouched back._

"_Heaven and Hell are nothing more than imaginary hopes," Allheart hissed, "Like dreams. They are fictional paradises… nothing more."_

_Marcus frowned._

"_Death is simply not just there, Twist. It is cold and painful and the sooner you learn that, the sooner you'll wish to avoid it! I'd rather be immortal, than suffer the cold reality of nothingness!"_

"_You're mad," Marcus dismissed. "Death is the end of life, but not of ourselves. There's got to be more after death! There's got to be!"_

_In less than a second, Allheart had a claw around Marcus's throat. He gasped, trying to free himself from a freezing grip._

"_Let me show you," Allheart whispered. "That the only paradises are those in life. Let me show you Xanadu, let me show you paradise. Let me show you death, Marcus Twist."_

_With that, he swallowed Marcus whole._

_And Marcus found himself falling, spinning, twisting, turning…_

_His screams were drowned in sound and fury._


	29. Xanadu

Yes! Now _this _is an episode I'm proud of! For two reasons: One, it's a loud of pretentious, philosophical bullshit; and Two, I kill everyone.

In other news, I'm beginning work on a **fully-fledged novel!** Sorry, but that deserved bold typeface.

Finally, thanks as always to **Megan666** and **Mytical-Mist-Devil**!

Now then... *Rubs hands gleefully for following massacre*

Let's make some graveyard stuffers.

_"You're gonna see, it's our destiny..."_

* * *

><p><span>Episode 29<span>

Marcus woke up.

This came as a shock to him. Rarely nowadays did he awake. He just seemed to slip in and out of Allheart's strange dream hallucinations, never knowing if he was conscious or not. So to actually sit up in bed, feeling scared yet relieved, was an all too rare experience.

But Allheart had spoken true; Marcus had had a decent night's sleep; he no longer felt tired and his senses were razor sharp. He struggled out of bed, feeling his bare feet against solid ground. He flexed his toes, looking up at the ceiling.

But he was scared. He had had one of those nightmares, those unshakable, heart-pounding nightmares… yet he couldn't seem to remember anything about it.

"_Thanks for the sleep. Next time, don't include the terrors."_

There was no answer.

He walked forward, letting the cold floor take the heat out of his body. He looked up at the dark ceiling. The fan was on, spinning lazily, generating enough cool air to make the room pleasant. He smiled.

"_What strangeness has brought me here? To work with The Transformers… and help the world at this age?"_

There was no answer.

Marcus stepped outside.

_Tick._

He stopped.

_Tock._

"Where's that clock?" Marcus muttered.

"_Do you hear that?" he asked._

"_Allheart?"_

"_Malevolus?"_

"_Are you there?"_

There was no answer.

* * *

><p><span>Xanadu<span>

_To stand within the pleasure dome  
>Decreed by Kubla Khan…<br>To taste anew the fruits of life  
>The last immortal man;<br>Find the sacred river Alf  
>To walk the caves of ice<br>Oh, I will dine on honeydew  
>And drink the milk of paradise…<em>

* * *

><p>Kaminari muttered to herself while she worked, sitting atop the Autobot's head, cybertronian wrench in hand. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, the African heat contained within the hangar trying with all it's might to tear her body apart. She had gotten rid of her lab-coat a while back; she wore a simple black tank-top, breathing hard as she turned the wrench again.<p>

The air hummed in the hot morning, the sun creeping its way into the hangar through cracks in the walls…

"Jeez, Sideswipe," she muttered, "Bludgeon did a real number on you, didn't he?"

Sideswipe didn't respond. She wondered how he still wasn't dead.

But she wouldn't wonder for much longer.

"You know," she continued, "From what the others tell me, you lost your mind back in New York. Attacked Optimus and fled. If you wake, Mason'll skewer you and send you on the next shuttle to Pluto…"

_Tick._

_Tock._

Kaminari turned her head, looking around suspiciously.

The hangar was dark. Not pitch black; there was enough ambient light to work by. But she was alone, with the exception of the would-be corpse beneath her.

"And now I'm hearing clocks," she whispered, annoyed, "On top of talking to a brick wall, I'm now hearing things."

…

_Tick._

The lights flickered.

_Tock…_

* * *

><p>Marcus walked down a shadowy corridor in the officer's building, liking the feel of the concrete beneath his bare feet. He hummed a little tune to himself, looked up at the lights he passed, stepped over the legs of a limp soldier lying against a wall and went outside.<p>

The sun was shining down, glorious in its simple and bountiful light. His hum turning into a whistle, he walked down the empty landing strip, studying the planes that had arrived last night.

_Look at the size of that thing! There's two of them! AC-130s I think they are… giant, gun-toting planes that could eradicate a city block in a matter of seconds. We actually might need a few more of those…_

"_What do you think?"_

There was no answer.

"_Fine, be that way. Sulky git."_

A pain stabbed into his foot. He winced and looked down, seeing he had stepped on a rather sharp stone. There was no blood, but Marcus realised the stupidity of walking outside bare-footed.

"Hey kid!"

Marcus turned around. Two soldiers, worn-out from their night shift, were heading towards him.

"Have you seen Sanders?"

As Kublak Han was the only sort of civilisation out here, Marcus had grown to know every soldier around and therefore knew every soldier's name. Corporal Kid Peterson and Private Damien Quail were two new recruits who had been ceremoniously dumped into the New York battle and, like every other FNG, had near wet themselves during the fiasco. But they were good guys and Quail usually gave Marcus some chocolate whenever any authority wasn't around.

"Sorry, Kid," Marcus replied, jokingly, "I haven't seen anyone around. What time is it?"

"Five in the morning," Private Quail yawned, "Goddamn Africa and its crazy hours… it's like goddamn summer!"

"It's actually goddamn winter," Marcus replied, "More importantly, do you have anything to eat?"

Quail shook his head regrettably. "Sorry kid, night shift means the pantry's empty in the morning. If I'd have known you'd be walking around at this hour I'd have saved a bar."

"Come on," Peterson said, grumpy from a lack of sleep, "Let's go wake the lieutenant."

But as the two soldiers headed towards the command centre, a scream sounded across the airfield.

All three of them froze.

"That sounded like Kaminari…" Marcus muttered.

"The hangar!" Quail concluded, and the three of them raced towards the hangar where Sideswipe was vainly attempting to cling onto life. Although the scream was urgent, Marcus was careful not to step on any stones, lest he hurt himself again.

They ran through an open doorway, Peterson's rifle at the hip, Quail trying to push Marcus back slightly. But Marcus wanted to see what was going on as well and would not be denied access, pushing past the two soldiers. They burst into the central hangar.

Peterson and Quail swung their weapons around, looking for targets. The lights were on, illuminating Sideswipe's body, but Kaminari Ishihara was nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell was that?" Peterson muttered.

Several shots exploded around the room, scaring Marcus to near death as Peterson rounded on his partner.

"What are you doing?" he cried.

"S-Sorry," Quail replied shakily, "I thought I saw something…"

"Where?"

Quail pointed to a darkened corner of the hangar. "I-I'm not sure… something in there…"

Peterson unhooked a flashlight, rubbed his eyes, and walked towards the darkened corner. He took each step slowly, as if they might be his last, while Marcus watched with baited breath. Quail thumbed his rifle carefully, still pointing it at the shadow.

_Tick._

They all jumped at the sound of time. Both the soldiers swung their rifles around, looking for the source of the noise.

"Where the hell is everybody?" Peterson whispered, his words carrying across the room.

"They should have heard those bullets…" Quail whispered.

_Tock._

The lights flickered. The room was plunged into darkness for mere seconds.

Marcus saw… _something._

Quail cried out and fired.

Lights flashed, Peterson screamed and Marcus ran for his life.

* * *

><p>In the jungles to the east, Arcee cut her way through the brush.<p>

_Why should I even care for any of them? The goddamn humans…_

_They use us like toys. Once broken, dumped somewhere else._

She found herself in a clearing, where the light was allowed to sweep through the trees. A pool rested in the centre, unperturbed, not an animal in sight. Arcee walked up to it, deeply saddened by all the recent turn of events.

She looked into the pool, gazing at her reflection.

"Look at yourself," she murmured, "What could you save? Who could you help? How will you survive?"

She thought about the humans. They buzzed around each other, content, nary an outcast in sight. They walked with each other, as she had done on Cybertron with her sisters. Never alone, never special, never an exile…

She stared harder into the pool, every inch of her metallic and pink face to see.

And, slowly, it began to change.

The optics changed first. The blue was suddenly rimming a black dot, solitary and beautiful, as her metal skin began to wax and change. It turned to flesh, white as snow, while out the top of her head, hair grew long and wispy. She was soon staring at a face that was not her own, yet beautiful all the same… yet one that she wanted desperately.

_This is not my world. And yet… there is nowhere else. Why can't I just join the billions already here? And why, Primus, can our home not be returned?_

_Please… could we start again?_

_Could we start again?_

_Please…_

The pond rippled and her face reverted to the cold, metal texture that it was.

_Tick._

_Tock._

Arcee turned her head.

She screamed as something stabbed straight through her chest, rending metal and circuits, grabbing a hold of her spark. With a torturous wail, it was torn out of her, energon spilling across the jungle floor.

Her corpse fell back into the pool, twitching in its death spasms.

The sun began to set.

_How strange, _her estranged last thoughts were, _That it should set in the morning…_

* * *

><p>"No baby," Epps moaned, "It's not like that! Do you think I'm sunbathing out here?"<p>

Staff-Sergeant Epps lay back on a deckchair, sunbathing. Naked for a pair of boxers and shades, he let himself roast in the setting sun, his long-range satellite phone in hand, his wife in his ear.

"One week," he told her, "One week until I'm back! I know it's not exactly consulting, but shit's pretty wired down here. We got casualties, corruption and cascading chaos!"

Epps smiled at his own witty alliteration, before being put in his place by the leader of the household.

"Yeah, baby," he muttered in submission, "No longer than a week, I promise…"

_Tick._

_Tock._

Epps found himself suddenly cold. Very slowly, laboriously, he removed his sunglasses.

Something was sticking out of his chest. It was covered with something red and wet. With a dim shock, Epps realised he was lying in a pool of his own blood.

The sun went down.

And Epps's corpse was dragged into the darkness.

* * *

><p>Marcus crouched low in the dark, hiding from whatever may be out there.<p>

_Where is everyone? _he screamed within himself, _Where __could they be?_

_I need to get to Stacy. I need to help her get out of here. The Decepticons are attacking!_

_How come we received no warning? WHERE IS EVERYONE?_

"_Allheart, where are you?" he roared._

There was no answer.

Marcus curled up in the shadows.

_I just want to go home._

_But this is my home…_

_No it isn't! I shouldn't be here! Not in this war, not with death…_

He sat in the darkness, panicking as he tried to think of what to do. He assumed everyone must be dead, or dying, and he dared not shout to be heard by whatever had murdered them.

_But, Stacy…_

_She's probably dead, along with all the rest. There's nothing I can do to help…_

_No! Stacy's my friend! I'd rather die myself then let the girl I love die instead!_

_How very noble. All I have to do… is go find her…_

Marcus looked around in the dark. He gulped, battling furiously with his fear to attempt a rescue mission.

_I have to…_

_I don't have to…_

_I need to! I will not abandon my friends! What will I do if I survive? Live in fear, alone? No… I've already suffered all I intend to suffer…_

_And she has as well…_

Slowly, he crawled out of the dark. He looked around, terrified that something would leap out at him.

Something did.

"BOY!" roared a voice.

Marcus nearly screamed and fell back onto his rump, staring up at the one who had shouted.

"What the hell are you doing there?" General Mason asked angrily, "Spying?"

"G-General!" Marcus nearly wept, "Thank God you're here!"

"What are you talking about?" Mason asked suspiciously.

"Something attacked Quail and Peterson!" Marcus explained, "In the hangar, where Sideswipe is!"

"What are you talking about?" Mason said, furious, "I was just speaking with Private Quail down there…" He pointed behind him down the hallway.

Something stabbed Mason through the chest, blood spraying all over the walls, splattering Marcus and drenching him with life fluid. Screaming and running, screaming and running, as Marcus tried to get away, something of horror and hate following him, crawling, laughing, spitting, hungry, savage…

Marcus leapt through a doorway, slamming the door shut behind him.

There was silence. Marcus breathed deep and hard.

He stared at his hands. They were covered in blood, dripping through his fingers. He was in shock, barely hearing the sound at the back of his head…

_Tick…_

Marcus looked up.

_Tock._

The room he had entered was filled with bodies.

Red was everywhere. Gore covered the walls and floor and ceiling and corpses were everywhere. Soldiers torn apart, decapitated heads letting out silent screams, butchered limbs all over the place.

_Tick._

_Tock._

Marcus screamed.

Something began tearing its way through the door, scratching and snarling and laughing and spitting and hungry and hungry and hungry…

Marcus ran, slipping through the blood, landing face-first in entrails, screaming and crying, getting back to his feet, running.

The door behind him exploded inwards.

_Tick. Tock._

Marcus ran as overwhelming darkness chased him down.

_Tick, tock._

It was almost on him.

_Ticktock._

He slipped into the human detritus, crying and clawing his way through the bodies.

He felt death looking down on him.

_Ticktockticktockticktock…_

Gunfire rang out, light illuminating the room. Marcus was weeping in complete and utter terror.

He felt something grab his arm and pull him away. He saw the light of war flashing above him.

Suddenly, he was out of the human abattoir and in a dimly-lit corridor, looking up at a man.

Corporal Peterson shut the door, locking it with a large bolt and gasping with pain and fatigue. He slid down the door and breathed heavily.

Marcus, his last tears drying on his cheeks, looked up.

"I… I thought…"

"Damien shot me…" Peterson muttered, "In the confusion… something… took him…"

Blood was leaking out of wounds in his chest and arm. He looked at Marcus with a defeated and doomed face.

"You need to go, kid… get out of here," Peterson murmured painfully, "Take this…"

He slid a pistol to Marcus. Marcus gingerly picked it up, having never touched a real gun before.

"Now go… I'll stay…" Peterson whispered, tears in his eyes. "Go… just go…"

Marcus looked up at the corporal, a wave of emotions flooding through him. But he did not want to leave. He did not want to leave this man who had saved him, dying on the floor of another red corridor. He felt loyalty and thanks flow through him, and did not want to leave.

Something smashed against the door. Peterson was weeping fully.

"GO!" he screamed, "Or I'll kill you myself!"

Marcus ran.

When he was gone, Peterson cocked his rifle for the last time.

_Tick._

_Tock._

* * *

><p>"Time is marching on, Optimus," Ratchet said, "We need a decision; do we stay… or do we go?"<p>

Optimus Prime felt his entire life slipping through his fingers. He had made tough choices before, to be sure, but this… this was asking him to abandon a home he had come to love. Turn his back on all the friends he had made, turn his back on those who respected him… and on those who despised him.

_Half the world wants us all to go. The other half wants us all to stay._

_But they all want the fighting to stop._

"Where's Arcee and Mirage?" Optimus asked.

They were in the other hangar, the huge door shut, so that no-one could interrupt them while making the momentous decision. No sound had come from outside, no-one to warn them.

"I'm not sure," Ratchet replied, "But I thought I saw Arcee heading east… I haven't seen Mirage all day."

Optimus nodded, understanding their need to get away from the base.

"The Decepticons move closer every day…" the Prime muttered.

_Tick._

"What was that?" Optimus asked, turning.

Ratchet didn't reply.

_Tock._

Optimus turned back.

Ratchet was in six pieces. Two arms, two legs, the torso and the head. They hung suspended in mid-air, his mouth agape in terrible pain and eternal death.

The lights went out.

Optimus felt himself dragged down. He tried to reach for his keyblade, yet his hand was gone, torn apart. His knees were broken and his mouth was welded shut, so as not to scream.

But he screamed regardless.

And felt his spark die.

* * *

><p>"Stacy!" Marcus whispered urgently, shaking her awake, "Stacy, we've got to leave <em>now<em>!"

"W-What's going on?" she muttered, stirring herself awake. She looked at her watch. "Marcus! It's half-past eleven at night!"

"What?" Marcus stuttered, "That can't be…"

But his bloody watch said the same thing as well. He muttered something under his breath.

"What?" Stacy asked quickly.

"We need to go, now."

He pulled her out of bed, before she even had time to put on any footwear.

"Hey! Let go, you're hurting me…"

"Stacy!" he cried, "They're all dead! I don't know what's going on, but they're all dead!"

"W-Who is?"

But Marcus was already dragging Stacy along another dark corridor, trying to feel for a door that would lead them out of this hell.

"The general, the Autobots, everyone's dying!" he cried, "Something's killing them and I don't know what it is!"

They entered a room. Blood was everywhere. Stacy screamed.

"No!" Marcus cried, but it was too late.

_Tick._

_Tock._

"RUN!" he roared.

They ran, hatred at their heels.

Blood, blood, blood…

Bodies and death and blood.

Everywhere they went.

Marcus had begun to realise that he would never escape. Every door he opened just lead to a new room. Some clean, others filled with the dead. When he tried to double-back on himself, the previous door opened to an entirely different place.

"We'll never get out," Stacy whispered, holding onto Marcus's arm in shock.

_Tick, tock._

It was getting closer.

"We just need to find a way out," Marcus muttered as the lights flickered, "And not stay in the dark…"

The lights went out.

Marcus ran, Stacy holding onto his arm, running as well.

_Ticktock._

It was right behind them.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…_

"JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Marcus cried pathetically.

They ran through the darkness, smashing through doors, lights flashing, flickering, disappearing… gone.

Stacy tripped.

Marcus fell with her.

For one fleeting second, their eyes met.

And then something pulled Stacy into the darkness.

"STTTACYYYYYY!" Marcus roared in despair and Stacy screamed.

And then her scream was cut short with a horrifying snap.

Marcus was left in silence. He just stared into the dark with shock.

_Stacy…_

There was not a sound.

Then…

_Tick._

…

_Tock._

He felt something grab him and pull him up.

He felt himself flying through the darkness.

And then…

Light.

* * *

><p>He opened his eyes.<p>

The night hung over him. But there was a moon and, oh so many stars. They were beautiful to look at. Marcus felt all his troubles and worries fade away as he stared up at those stars, millions and millions of miles away. Something so small, yet so big… Marcus couldn't even get his head around it. And each star would have planets, with every planet having the possibility of containing life. Aliens like the Transformers. Like the humans. Was there another race out there? It was possible. After all—

"You okay, little man?"

Marcus found a face covering his view of the night sky.

It was Ryder.

"Ryder," Marcus nearly cried, "Please say that's you…"

"That's you."

Marcus closed his eyes, relieved. Then immediately opened them, his memory returning.

"STACY!" he cried, "I've got to…!"

But Ryder held him back with a hand on his shoulder. Marcus stared around and realised he was on the airfield.

Ryder stared at him through those sunglasses. His face was drawn and taught, as if it had weathered far more than the fifteen years he had endured since the dawn of his life. His duster had matted blood on it, while he leant on the tall frame of ELLIPSIS.

"They're all dead," Ryder uttered, both of them knowing it to be true. "You can't help any of them."

"N-No… this can't be…"

"I warned you Marcus. I warned you people would die."

Marcus looked at Ryder then, really looked. But the older boy's emotions were hidden behind those ridiculous shades, his eyes a misty blue from the last time Marcus had seen them. When had that been? Marcus couldn't recall. But he did remember the first time they met, down it that strange sewer…

"B-But…"

"It'll kill us both if we stay much longer," Ryder informed him, "Something like that can't be stopped."

Marcus looked up helplessly, lost. "Ryder…" he muttered.

"Yeah?"

"Where are your parents?" he asked out of the blue.

Ryder visibly stiffened, the only time Marcus would ever see him lose his cool. When he spoke, his voice was strained.

"Far away from here… they won't miss me though. I may return… one day."

_Tick…_

"It's coming."

_Tock._

Marcus began to cry again, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks from the futility of it all.

"Now don't give me any of that," Ryder muttered. "Stop wasting water and head north, into the desert. Loop around the Topaz Mountain. Then keep on heading north."

"W-What about you?"

"I said it can't be stopped," Ryder murmured, as if somewhere else entirely, "But it can be delayed."

Marcus realised Ryder's horrible intent.

"No!" Marcus wailed, grabbing his duster, "Enough people have died! Just run!"

Ryder pushed Marcus to the ground. The younger boy looked up in shock.

"Don't touch my coat," he ordered, "Now unlike you, I don't care for death. So run, Marcus. Head north."

But Marcus just looked up, his eyes filled with fear.

Ryder sighed. "You've seen me fight. No-one in existence can ever beat me. Only I can decide where my death will be. Now go! Another corpse won't help anyone."

With one last look of pure grief, Marcus got up from the ground and ran from Kublak Han.

Ryder turned back to the base.

_Tick…_

_Tock._

"One," Ryder counted.

_Tick._

_Tock._

"Two."

_Tick. Tock._

"Three."

_Tick, tock._

"Four."

_Ticktock._

"Five."

_Tick, tock, tick, tock…_

"Six."

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock..._

"Seven."

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock..._

"Eight."

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, t_ick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.__

"Nine."

_Tick…_

_Tock._

"Ten."

* * *

><p><em>You've run for far too long…<em>

Marcus strode through the desert, alone and afraid.

"_Allheart, please! Just please say you're there!"_

There was no answer.

_They're all dead… every one of them._

Pace after pace.

_Why… just why?_

Step after step.

_Who decides who should live and who should die? You must be a monster to ever make those choices…_

Yard after yard.

_Why did I come here? Why did any of us come here? I just want to go home…_

He saw something in the sand, in the pale moonlight.

He picked it up.

It was a used cigarette. Not an ember left.

_Ryder… he came this way._

And all of a sudden, the last few tears he had left came out. He had never truly thought of Ryder as his friend. Just some jumped-up idiot who had a big gun. But… he had just saved Marcus's life…

And Stacy… oh god, Stacy…

"WHY?" he screamed at the night, "WHY?"

But if there were those above the winter moonlight, they did not answer.

* * *

><p>"<em>Evangelical..."<em>

_What was the point? What was the point in all the fighting? Why do we still fight?_

_It's not out of revenge. I don't believe Optimus or Megatron still fight for that. There's no point in revenge. It's not out of necessity; there's nothing to gain. It's not out of… anything… it's just… so confusing._

_Does one need to fight? Does anyone need to fight? What is the purpose in fighting?_

It was then that Marcus came upon a hand.

The hand came up to his waist, yellow and black.

_Bumblebee._

_No doubt he's out there, dead too. Mirage and Bumblebee and Sixshot, all dead in this desert…_

_Why are they dead? Because someone wanted them dead or because they continued fighting in this war? Do the Autobots and the Decepticons truly hate each other…?_

_Why should they? Everything they've ever lost is in the past, while all they do is fight each other in the present. Why don't they form a truce? Why not sue for peace?_

_Why is Bumblebee's hand here, when he should be on the other side of the world?_

None of it made any sense. Marcus looked up at the stars until his head was dizzy.

_Hours fly by. Sun swaps with the moon. Day after day…_

_This is a wasteland._

_I will show you fear in a handful of dust._

He passed by the body parts of more Autobots. Sixshot's revolver, Mirage's foot, Arcee's optics…

_Revenge. A cycle of hate that will never, ever end. Death must pay for death. The criminal becomes the judge, the murderer becomes the executioner, the innocent… becomes the dead._

_Why must the fighting go on?_

He stopped.

In front of him, resting in the sand, was the head of Optimus Prime. Dark and foreboding, the red and blue were drained, his optics utterly black.

_I am standing atop a cemetery. The tomb of the giants. The first, and last, aliens…_

_But why? Why must this come to pass?_

_Revenge. A cycle of hate that will never, ever end. That is the answer, will always be the answer. To poison one's soul until it wants nothing more than to exact its hatred upon one who has done him wrong._

_That… that is why…_

Corpses stretched far and wide, man and machine. Optimus, Megatron, Colonel Lennox, Soundwave, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Shockwave, Sixshot… hundreds of others he could name.

But two he knew were missing.

_So why must I remain? Why assist them with their pointless revenge?_

The sand shifted beneath his feet. His throat was dry, parched.

_Why am I here? I can leave. I can escape._

_Is it out of friendship? Is it out of a belief I can help? Is it instinct?_

_Should I stay… or should I go?_

He found himself up to his neck in sand. The wind howled through the dark desert, as the corpses of those who had died were flayed and thrown to the wind, nothing more than ash and dust.

_Death._

_Hate, revenge, war… they all end in death._

_Death is cold. Death is loneliness. Death is pain._

_Death is the end._

_How does one become immortal? How does one exist after death?_

_You can't._

The sand poured over him, drowning, suffocating…

_No…_

_You can._

_Through memory. If no-one ever knew you… then you never lived at all. You wouldn't have existed. But someone who is remembered for years after their demise… that's how long they exist. In memory. Closer to the heart than ever before._

_Will anyone remember me?_

_Will anyone remember the dead?_

_Does it even matter? Will anything I do in life matter?_

_Optimus… Ryder…_

_Stacy…_

He fell to his knees, staring down at the ground, sobbing and heaving with utter sorrow. It did not even matter that he had been under the sand a second before; there was nothing left. No friends, no family… no life…

He did not know how long he stayed there. He just knelt, face down in the desert, crying every last tear away. He was a lost child, who just wanted to be with someone, anyone…

Then, as if far away, he heard a woman's voice…

"_There, there."_

He knew that voice. From so long ago…

"_It'll be alright…"_

Marcus sniffed.

"_There, there."_

Marcus looked up.

He saw light, fantastic and full.

"M-Mom?" he whispered.

"_Do you remember me?"_

"Of course, mom," Marcus wept, "I won't ever forget…"

"_I'm sorry, Marcus. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

"_I'm sorry… I mean it, I'm sorry…"_

"…_I'm… sorry…"_

The light was revealed.

It was the Topaz Mountain, titanic and ancient, looking down on him. But it was no longer black. It radiated with golden light, a lighthouse in the sea of sand. It could be seen for hundreds of miles around, its heavenly light pouring out the ancient rock.

Marcus shed one final tear. But not in fear or grief; in joy, for witnessing this beauty.

He realised he was not alone.

"The mountain dark, has gleamed once more," a deep, powerful voice uttered, "And never will again. All will be dust and perish with it, and when it crumbles, so will you… join the noble brotherhood of the dead."

Marcus turned to look at his right.

A hulking, huge man of African origin was staring at the mountain. He stood straight, almost regal in his form. A golden sceptre was in his right hand, while he was dressed in animal rags and fur. Yet Marcus knew him anyway, from a conversation he'd had, as if so long ago…

"You are King Shalabahm IV," Marcus muttered, "I remember you."

The king looked at Marcus and nodded.

"Do you understand now, Marcus?" he asked, "Understand what death really means? All of life is to lead to death. But death is cold, heartrending and full of pain. Death is misery. Do you wish to die?"

"No," Marcus whispered.

"Do you care for death?"

"Yes."

The ancient king nodded and turned back to look at the mountain. He smiled.

"Death is the end. I died here, under the shadow of this mountain. I was once a man who fought monsters… but then I became a monster myself. I died here. I will not be the last. And yet I will exist, in your memory, and the memory of others."

The light shined through him, translucent. Marcus wondered about his mother, about life, about death, about the futility of wondering about it all. The light of the moon and the mountain filled him with transcendence.

Something licked Marcus's hand. He turned to look, bleary-eyed.

A coyote stood beside him, staring up at him.

"Hello," Marcus muttered in wonder.

He looked back to where the king was. But he was gone.

Marcus looked to the mountain, for the last time. The light had shown him… something… a future he was not sure about, a future predicted… but not definite.

_No escape, no place to hide  
>Here where light and dark collide…<em>

"But…" Marcus whispered.

The coyote stopped and looked up. He cast his gaze to the mountain as well.

"The worst thing about death isn't the pain. Or the fear. Or the finality. It's the mourning. The grief for another's will never see that face again, a face you loved so much. You will wish you did something different, something else that would have changed tears into a smile. You will wish that you were dead instead. Mourning is the destruction of your mind for the deceased."

The mountain became brighter, the golden light filling Marcus's vision.

"Then," the coyote muttered in an ancient, croaking voice. "That is the mission of those who will die. Mourning must be a celebration of those memories. For ever and ever, through remembrance. That is life. To make sure that when the sun rises on a new day, the one you shall not see, until all is relinquished… the mourning is good."

Marcus was illuminated.

When the golden life was gone, so was Marcus.

And the sands of time rolled on, to the ticking of a clock.

* * *

><p><em>Held within the pleasure dome<br>Decreed by Kubla Khan…  
>To taste my bitter triumph<br>As a mad immortal man;  
>Nevermore shall I return<br>Escape these caves of ice  
>For I have dined on honeydew<br>And drunk the milk of Paradise…_


	30. Chaos Overture

_**And now, it is time for the four-parter Season 2 finale...**_

_**Just remember...**_

_**It's not a question of who's going to win...**_

_**It's a question of who's going to survive...**_

_**Harbinger has arrived.**_

* * *

><p>"<em>Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight's show will be one to remember; this Saturday, who'<em>_s turn is it… to Bite The Dust?_"

"Fools," Soundwave uttered, as one of his many information outlets showed him a pointless and ugly human game show. He closed that one off. Now there were only 12,233,961 links in his global watch network.

He saw everything.

"Except Harbinger," he muttered, sinking again into a pointless and ugly depression.

Even the truce with the Autobots has yielded nothing. If Harbinger makes its plan soon, at least we will not be caught up in the middle of a battle with them again. Just as long as Megatron does not find out, we should be prepared for whatever Harbinger will throw at us…

"Laserbeak," Soundwave called to the world below, "Activate."

A few seconds passed by. Suddenly, a synaptic link came into full realisation.

"_Master_," Laserbeak answered from below, awaking.

"Commence Operation Echidna."

There was a pause.

"_Are you sure that's… wise, master_?"

"Desperate times require…" Soundwave uttered, "Forceful measures."

"…_Harbinger has made you paranoid_."

"I am also cutting my links off to the world," Soundwave replied, ignoring his subservient. "I have spent far too long here, allowing myself open to those who wish to pry further than those at HARP."

"_You'__re taking this too far…_"

There was a sound. A small, inescapable sound.

A warning alarm.

Soundwave, almost instinctively, traced it immediately back to its source.

Several more alarms shrilled out through his subconscious, as his information links were cut off one by one.

"What is this…?" he muttered, mostly to himself.

And then something was uploaded. Uploaded to him.

Soundwave screamed as a million miles of destructive code poured into his veins, energon splitting and leaking through his very muscles, his optics exploding with high voltage, his brain reduced to molten metal.

With one last silent scream, he was flung from his satellite and sent careering through space, dead to all.

And with him, the last hope for peace between the Autobots and Decepticons.

On the planet below, Harbinger's plan was put into motion.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 30: Chaos Overture… Good Day<span>

_WAKE UP DEAD!__  
><em>_**YOU**__**!**__** DIE!**__  
>WAKE UP DEAD!<em>_  
>And buried…<em>_  
>WAKE UP DEAD!<em>_  
><em>_**YOU! DIE!**__  
>Wake up dead<em>

—**Wake Up Dead**

* * *

><p>Marcus woke up.<p>

This came as a shock to him. Rarely nowadays did he awake. He just seemed to slip in and out of Allheart's strange dream hallucinations, never knowing if he was conscious or—

No.

Wait.

This had already happened. He breathed, slowly, trying to recollect his memories…

Something was crying. Crying all over him.

_This isn't my bed._

He opened his eyes.

_Grey clouds. Grey lives._

The heavens had opened up on him. That was why he was drenched.

He was lying on hard asphalt. He looked around, groaning as he sat up. He was in the middle of an old road, rain falling all around…

_Where am I…?_

"_Good mourning," Allheart uttered, reiterating from a world before, "Rise and cry."_

Marcus looked up.

A huge, black iron gate hung over him. Connected to ten-foot high brick walls, this gate had fallen into disrepair. Vines and weeds grew in every shadow, fighting for supremacy over man's creations. The gate towered over Marcus, a stark sign of despair, before Marcus looked beyond it.

On a lonely hill stood a large, old building. It was difficult to make out through the rain, but Marcus had a dismal feeling that he would soon find out.

"_Yes," Allheart chuckled. "You'll see…"_

"_Where am I? How did I get here?"_

"_Why don't you go up to the old place and ask? There might be someone there who will be willing to help you…"_

Marcus slowly got to his feet, his wet hair clouding the vision that wasn't obstructed by the rain.

"_I… I can't see…"_

"_You will. You'll see…"_

Marcus slowly stepped forward to the gate.

"_How can I get through?"_

"_All it takes is one push."_

Marcus pushed forward, gripping the cold iron with his cold hands.

The gate slowly, grinding, swung inward.

Marcus squeezed through, walking forward.

He stared up at the old building.

He walked up the hill.

"_What will I find?"_

"_The answers, Marcus. The answers to everything."_

* * *

><p>"Pathetic!" Thundercracker roared, "Set and fight!"<p>

Hatchet and Crashdive smashed into one another. The audience of demonic Decepticons roared with appreciation, bets being swapped and idiots being punched.

Crashdive kicked hatchet in the chin, sending the smaller but more ferocious Decepticon into the wall of the fighting pit. Thundercracker nodded with satisfaction.

"I understand the need for sparring," Barricade uttered from beside him. "But must it really be turned into a game?"

"If there are bets, Barricade," Thundercracker hissed to the smaller Decepticon. "Then it is no game."

"Then what is it?"

Thundercracker turned to where Hatchet had bitten a chunk out of Crashdive's shoulder.

"Sport."

The crowd roared again as Crashdive cautiously stepped back. Hatchet chewed on the metal, grinning as energon dripped from his fangs.

"What does it prove?" Barricade muttered, disapproval all over his face.

"Prove? It proves nothing," Thundercracker replied. "But it _im_proves morale. Look at them."

Thundercracker indicated with his hands the crowd which bayed and cheered.

"They love every second. Know when to push both fear and respect to get the best results out of your soldiers."

"They do not respect you for this," Barricade dismissed. "They will forget the fight by the next solar cycle."

Thundercracker laughed, a deep booming laugh, as Crashdive pinned Hatchet to the ground.

"Don't worry," Thundercracker chuckled. "There's another one tomorrow! And the day after that!"

Barricade didn't answer.

The crowd went quiet.

Hatchet went still. Crashdive looked down with curiosity.

Thundercracker watched the crowds, his arms folding. Something was very wrong.

With the exception of Crashdive, every other 'con in the room had gone still. They were utterly frozen, their optics glazed over, as if in a trance.

Crashdive, who had never had a new voice box inserted, looked up at Thundercracker with mild confusion.

Thundercracker shook his head. Whatever was going on, he didn't want any sudden movements…

Then, as one, the crowd moved. Barricade, Overcast, Fracture, a dozen others… they all started moving towards the room's exits. Even Hatchet limped out of the pit and followed. To Thundercracker's eyes, this was not something planned nor determined by free will.

"What's going on?" a voice cried out from a corridor. All of a sudden, Lieutenant Skywarp came barrelling in, almost knocking over an entranced Crowbar.

"Thundercracker!" Skywarp exclaimed. "What's going on with them?"

Thundercracker gritted his teeth. "I do not know, lieutenant," he hissed. "Now shut up and watch."

The three Seekers stared in amazement as every other member of the Decepticons began walking out of the _Ark_. Quickly, the room emptied except for the unperturbed three.

"What's going on?" Skywarp repeated urgently.

"I'll knock you out if I hear that again," Thundercracker muttered.

Crashdive just walked past the two of them, tailing the leaving Decepticons. The two lieutenants followed suit.

Along the way, they ran into a very confused Flatline.

"What's going on?" Flatline asked, scratching his head.

With a hard swing, Thundercracker smashed a fist into Skywarp's head. The other lieutenant dropped to the ground, unconscious, energon leaking from a crack in his head. Crashdive grunted in something that might have been a poor attempt at a chuckle.

"I don't know," Thundercracker said with darkened tones. "But if it's one big joke by Mindwipe, then I'm killing the bastard."

"Whatever it is," Flatline inspected, watching as Overload scuttled after the others, possessed as well. "It seems to avoid the Seekers."

"No," Thundercracker argued, "I saw Overcast going as well."

"Then wh—"

A scream rang throughout the _Ark_. Immediately, the three Seekers ran towards where they thought it originated, leaving the unconscious Skywarp behind.

They found Mindwipe clutching his head, crouched down in the corridor. He was wailing something awful, but the three other Decepticons had heard much worse.

"What's going on?" Thundercracker asked, slapping Mindwipe across the back of the head. Crashdive rolled his optics.

Mindwipe looked up with terrified optics. "It's… it's… in…"

"What is it, Mindwipe?" Thundercracker roared.

"It's… in… my head…"

"WHAT IS?"

"Har…Harb…"

"SPIT IT OUT!"

Mindwipe, in one last ditch attempt to save his doomed will, grabbed Thundercracker and stared into his optics.

"I see it," Mindwipe hissed in terror. "I see Harbinger. Thundercracker, you must go to the Autobots; they're next! They're next! They're ne—"

Mindwipe let go of Thundercracker. He stepped back, his optics glazed over.

And then, like those before, he walked through the _Ark_'s corridors.

"Do you know what Harbinger is?" Thundercracker asked Flatline. The medic replied with an uncaring shrug.

"Allow me to illuminate this subject."

The three Seekers looked up at the darkened rafters. A figure hid in the shadows, cloaked in black.

"You may try to mask your voice," Thundercracker growled. "But I can always hear a rat, Astrotrain."

The silhouette chuckled. Astrotrain dropped down, reappraising Thundercracker.

"Starscream has an eye for talent," Astrotrain muttered. "Shame they're now set on the door, like everyone else's."

"Do you know what's happening to them?" Thundercracker asked. "What's this Harbinger?"

"I have no idea," Astrotrain replied truthfully. "But Shockwave and Soundwave seemed positively terrified by it."

"Really?"

"No. But they assumed the worst... and it seems the worst has happened. But what they do know is this; whatever Harbinger is, it originates from Earth."

Thundercracker stared around, furious.

"But why us five?" he muttered. "Why are we five not touched by this… plague?"

"Five?" Astrotrain asked curiously.

Flatline lazily pointed back where they had come from. "Skywarp decided to take a nap…"

"Skywarp?" Astrotrain thought. He looked at the three Seekers. "Hang on…"

"What?"

"You four didn't arrive until after the Chicago debacle. You, Flatline and Skywarp didn't turn up until Brazil and Crashdive was only found recently."

"What about you?" Thundercracker asked.

"I never went to Chicago… AHA!" Astrotrain cried jubilantly.

"What is it?" Flatline asked, scratching his empty optic-socket.

"I know the difference between those possessed and us five," Astrotrain said as he headed down the corridor, chasing after the entranced Decepticons.

"What?" Thundercracker called after him.

"We never died!"

* * *

><p>"What are these… things?" Optimus muttered in disgust.<p>

"They are the Landmine units Optimus," Mason grunted, folding his arms in an instinctual act of defiance. "They are the reserves."

Optimus and Mason stood together in the spare hangar. While Sideswipe recuperated in the other, where planes were also repaired, the remaining one was used for where the Landmine units were stored.

"Production on these things began as far back as Mission City," Mason continued. "They are simply robots that work with cybertronian hearts. Energon pumps through their veins, not electricity; it's a power source unlike any other. They are automated and under complete control… just more soldiers to use in the war."

Optimus Prime stayed silent, watching, his ire rising tremendously.

"I hope you see it the same way," Mason murmured glumly. "Although, being the self-righteous idiot that you are, I wouldn't bet on it."

"When Sideswipe dies," Optimus uttered, "We leave."

Mason looked up in surprise, his brow furrowing.

"Keep these abominations. Keep our technology. Keep those who wish to stay. But hear me now, General," Optimus growled, looking down on the tiny man. "Do not expect to see the Autobots fight another battle for you."

Mason was about to protest, open his mouth and call Optimus a liar. But he stopped. He shut his mouth and smiled.

"Then good riddance," he announced smugly. "With what we have now, even a full-scale Decepticon assault would fail."

"But at what cost?" Optimus replied coldly. "Not ours, let me assure you of that."

Optimus turned and left. Mason looked at the rows of deactivated robots.

"You better live up to your potential," he whispered. "Or your stupid tin-can asses can join the rest in space."

* * *

><p>"Sergeant Peterson?" Stacy asked worriedly as she strode down the corridor.<p>

"Yes, Stacy?" the sergeant replied.

"Have you seen Marcus around?"

Peterson shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, gal, can't help you. Actually… funny, I haven't seen him all day."

Stacy moved onwards, a bit more angry and a bit more worried than before.

_Where can that idiot be? He better not be out on that scorching airfield!_

She entered the mess hall, which had vacated after lunch. All except for one.

"Hey Ryder," Stacy said to the kid who forked his noodles with casual disinterest. "Have you seen Marcus?"

The forking stopped. Ryder, eyes ever-hidden by those ever-present sunglasses, looked up at Stacy.

"Not since last night," he replied, his voice barely above a mutter.

"Last night?"

Ryder looked back to his noodles. He stared at them as if they would deliver him the meaning of life.

"He was heading into the desert."

"The desert?" Stacy cried in alarm. "Why?"

"Because I told him to."

"And he listened?" Stacy asked incredulously.

Ryder stared at her and Stacy felt a chill run down her spine.

"What did you dream of last night?" he asked out of the blue.

Stacy hesitated. "What has that got to do with anything?"

"Amuse me."

Stacy frowned. "Nothing. At least, I don't remember what I dreamed."

Ryder chewed this over without the help of his noodles.

"Funny…"

"What is?"

"I'm not sure. Only that we've got to find Marcus before he sets off a nuke."

"Wh-What?"

"Figure of speech. It means we've got to find Marcus before he sets off global warming."

"I really can't tell when you're serious."

"Maybe I never am?" Ryder questioned as he got up. "Or maybe I am all the time?"

"Well, which is it?"

"Both."

"You're just an attention-grabbing idiot."

"And Marcus? Right now, he could be a corpse. I'd much prefer the amazing idiot."

"I never said you were amazing."

Ryder straightened his duster.

"You will. Now let's go find your boyfriend."

* * *

><p>They stood in a row, lined up as if on parade. Megatron stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Crowbar and Overload. Shockwave activated the Pillars and Starscream was oblivious to Thundercracker's hand gestures.<p>

"They have completely lost control of their own minds," Flatline noted. "They are being controlled by something else."

"Where is Soundwave?" Skywarp wondered.

"He's probably been possessed as well," Astrotrain answered. "Or he's tracking down who's done it on Earth."

Crashdive simply watched and waited. Thundercracker stopped trying to awake his commander and went back to the other Decepticons.

"It looks like I'm in charge," he announced, "So here are my standing orders—"

"Hang on!" Skywarp argued. "Who said you were in charge?"

"Yeah," Astrotrain uttered. "After all, us three are the same rank."

"Now I regret promoting your slimy hide, Skywarp," Thundercracker replied, glowering.

"Well, you did!" Skywarp pouted. "So maybe we should put the command deal to a vote."

Crashdive snorted in amusement at the three bickering lieutenants.

"What are you laughing at?" Skywarp snarled. "What are you, an idiot?"

Crashdive nodded, as if agreeing, and walked up to the end of the Decepticon line, where Barricade stood. Without a moment's hesitation, Crashdive slapped the lieutenant in the face. Barricade responded by raising his arm and firing a missile.

Crashdive rolled out of the way as Barricade attacked. Crashdive kept dodging back as the possessed Decepticon launched salvo after salvo at the mute Seeker. Eventually, Crashdive got such a great distance away, that Barricade simply turned around and headed back to the line. He joined up where he had been before and looked as still as he always had. Crashdive returned to the three lieutenants, who all stared at him as if expecting a winning lottery ticket.

Crashdive shrugged.

"I have an idea," Astrotrain said sarcastically. "How about we make the mute, stupid, psychopathic Decepticon the leader?"

Crashdive glared at Astrotrain, fingers flexing.

"Great!" Skywarp roared, turning and kicking a piece of debris across the ground. "So we'll be stuck here, not daring to fight each other, wondering when the other two will elect you leader?"

"Or…" Flatline interjected. "We could just wait until they've all teleported, then trace where they all went to… and work from there."

There was silence, the air filled with the hum of mass consideration.

"Let's do that," Astrotrain, Skywarp and Thundercracker all muttered.

"We are decided," Flatline said happily, rubbing his hands together. "Now, call me if they leave." He turned around and headed back to the _Ark_.

"Where are you going?" Thundercracker asked.

"The hatchery. If any of those little buggers are still alive, then it's up to me to… look after them…"

* * *

><p>"There it is," Bumblebee muttered. "The Topaz Mountain."<p>

He stared at the imposing, black mountain, barely a glimmer on the horizon. Sixshot sat on the desert, staring up at the clear, blue sky. Their feet in the sand, the sun blazing upon their bare heads, desert winds whispered of battles long forgotten.

"Do you believe Soundwave's told them about the truce?" Bumblebee asked.

Sixshot shrugged.

"Or if the truce is even real?"

Sixshot shrugged.

"Do you care about any of this?"

Sixshot slowly shook his head.

Bumblebee crossed his arms, angry. "You're very ignorant."

"If you say so," Sixshot yawned, getting up to his feet and stretching. "Although I can't seem to realise what I'm being ignorant about…"

"You're being ignorant about…" but Bumblebee stopped. Realising he was being suckered, he stared back towards the mountain.

"We'd best make pace as quickly as possible," Sixshot finally said. "And see if Sideswipe's still alive."

"After the beating he took at New York, I doubt that…"

His anger quickly subsiding, Bumblebee now found himself upset, staring at the mountain with grim misery.

_The corpse count just keeps rising, _he thought bitterly. _Near everyone I've known has died, either back on Cybertron or here, on this damn rock. It seems even more likely that I'm next…_

"Enough daydreaming," Sixshot said, slapping Bumblebee on the back. "We've still got a desert to cross."

"Something's wrong," Bumblebee muttered.

"How?" Sixshot asked warily.

"I… I don't know. But I can feel it coming…"

"What?"

Bumblebee looked up at Sixshot.

"Something big. Something dangerous."

* * *

><p>One by one, each of them flashed and vanished. Blue light twinkled atop the lunar surface, barely a second passing in-between every one, like lightning strikes. In a way, they were their own special thunder.<p>

The five Decepticons who would not be joining them watched in silence. Thundercracker had his arms crossed, a glowering expression of wrath imprinted on his face. Flatline crouched beside him, his one eye staring out at the disappearing Decepticons with keen interest. Astrotrain, the sly demagogue, simply watched with casual disinterest. Skywarp sat atop the _Ark_, away from everyone else, enjoying both the view and the lightshow. Crashdive wasn't even watching, for he was resisting every urge to crush the hatchlings that swarmed over him. Flatline had brought the malnourished creatures out, for they would have starved inside, and they had taken to Crashdive like an adoptive father. Crashdive obviously didn't feel the same way and it took the pressing of the other four to stop the mute psycho from killing the defenceless children.

In the end, the only possessed Decepticon left on the moon was Shockwave, who wrapped up with the Pillars and awaited his own teleportation. A few seconds later, he was gone.

"Now," Thundercracker uttered. Flatline was quick to obey, racing towards the Pillar control console and using it to trace where the Decepticons had gone.

"There's a problem," Astrotrain noted. "Are we to leave the hatchlings on their own?"

Crashdive looked up, ready to support the idea fully, but Thundercracker answered curtly. "No. Are you volunteering to babysit, Astrotrain?"

"It was just a question I was throwing out," Astrotrain replied shadily. "Although I doubt anyone would want to stay and make sure they keep out of trouble…"

"I will," came a voice from above. Skywarp floated down from the roof, while Astrotrain and Thundercracker eyed him warily.

"I will stay here and look after the hatchlings," Skywarp volunteered.

"And miss out on whatever's going on?" Thundercracker asked, suspicious.

"I've learned to stick my scent receptor out of places of keen interest," Skywarp replied. "With Decepticons teleporting all over the place, possession of cybertronian minds, and our grand military history on Earth, I think my chances of surviving are much more likely upon this here satellite."

Thundercracker snorted in derision but didn't argue, turning to walk to where Flatline traced the teleportation. But Astrotrain remained, keeping a suspicious eye on Skywarp.

"But what if none of us return?" he asked. "Then you'll be the last Decepticon in existence, save for these little shits."

"I would last," Skywarp responded. "I would survive longer than everyone else, and these 'little shits' would carry my legacy to their grave. Who knows; they may provide the key to our race's survival. I would be their God."

"Skywarp, the omnipotent head of the cybertronian descendants," Astrotrain mused. "I admit, it's got a nice ring to it."

"Screw you," Skywarp muttered. "When you're dead and buried, I'll be sitting here, on top of everything."

Before Astrotrain could reply, Flatline cried out.

"By Primus!"

"What is it?" Thundercracker asked urgently.

"It's where they've gone! They've gone to Earth!"

"Well, duh," Skywarp groaned. "Where on Earth?"

Flatline looked at him in panic. "Everywhere!"

"Huh?" Skywarp said stupidly, not understanding what Flatline was trying to explain.

"They've gone everywhere!" Flatline exclaimed. "All over the Earth; they're going to wipe it out!"

* * *

><p>The huge building loomed over him. Marcus gulped as his gaze drank it all in.<p>

"_Where have you taken me?" he asked._

"_Where you needed to go."_

Drenched and cold, Marcus shivered as he walked up to the huge door that led inside the decrepit architecture. Carved oak with grotesque figureheads leered at him with manic intensity, their mouths etched in a roar that Marcus swore he could hear over the slash of rainfall. His mind reeled with the impossibility of his situation. Out of Africa, out of sanity, out of his head… out of favour with any benevolent god that could save him from the hell his own mind had thrust upon him. He gulped, feeling water drip down his neck, running concurrent with the blood in his veins. His heart pounded as he reached out to knock…

The huge door swung open, creaking in its age and size. Marcus stared in.

A slim, ageing man with a distinct lack of hair looked down on him. Tall and straight-backed, he looked like the butler of some country manor. His nose turned against the wind and rain, his mouth puckered up at the sight of the boy at his door. But what fascinated Marcus the most was the man's eyes. They were filled with unrecorded knowledge, as if the history of man had been poured into his head like molten gold, filling his brain up to the brim. Those eyes looked weary, as if such knowledge had helped him discover that the Wisdom of Solomon only brought dismay and fatigue. He stared at Marcus in recognition.

"Good Day, Mr Twist," the man said in a polite, curt voice. "We've been expecting you."

* * *

><p>"Gerin," Stacy asked finally, "Have you seen Marcus?"<p>

Gerin turned around and looked at Stacy. In the middle of the large hangar where Sideswipe rested, tended to by Ratchet, technicians and scientists, Stacy had been lucky enough to find Gerin passing through. Her beautiful eyes studied Stacy's panic and realised there was something to be worried about.

"No, I haven't… why, is he missing?"

"I think," Stacy murmured. "I think… he might be somewhere out in the desert."

Gerin gasped in panic. She gripped Stacy's shoulders.

"Are you sure?" she asked urgently.

"I don't know!" Stacy cried. "Ryder knows!"

Gerin looked up at Ryder, a strange sort of fear in her eyes. Ryder shrugged.

"I had a dream last night. I think he might have had the same one. The last I saw of him was his silhouette in the dark… running to the Topaz Mountain, fleeing time."

Gerin's eyes closed. Her dark skin rippled with thought. Emotions ran through her, too many to count or name.

"Allheart," she realised. She gulped.

"Allheart? What's that?" Stacy asked.

"Looks like it's up to us three to find the poor sod," Ryder sighed. "Before anything happens to him."

Gerin nodded. "I'll bring the matter to Optimus, he'll listen to this. He won't let anything happen to—"

At that moment though, Bumblebee and Sixshot entered the hangar. Ishihara stood up on Sideswipe's body and stared angrily at the arrivals.

"Where have you two been?" she demanded. "While you're off chasing Decepticons, tensions between you guys and Mason have reached a critical point!"

"Whatever's going on, we've got more important news!" Bumblebee argued. "We made negotiations with Soundwave—"

"WHY WASN'T I INFORMED OF THIS?" Mason thundered, entering in his usual way.

"Because we only just arrived," Sixshot muttered.

"The point is," Bumblebee continued, getting frustrated, "Is that we negotiated with the Decepticons… and we settled a truce."

There was a stunned silence as everyone took this on-board. For the briefest second, there was a general aura of what might just have been hope.

And then an alarm blared out. Ratchet turned from the new information to check a console.

"That sounds like a truce to me," Fearswoop cackled from his energy cage in the corner of the room.

"I almost forgot he was there," Bumblebee muttered. "Shame it didn't last."

Another alarm blared out. Then another. And another. And another…

"Washington, Miami, Buenos Aires, London, Madrid, Moscow… they're assaulting everywhere, all at once!" Ratchet cried. "They're everywhere!"

"Well, that ceasefire was effective," Mason bellowed. "Come on, everyone; let this be HARP's last charge. From here to Cavalry, let's give a war to remember!"

For one last battle, both Autobot and human suited up for war.

Gerin looked around in disgust. "The fools. It's so obviously a trap…"

"But who's set it?"

Gerin, Stacy and Ryder turned to see Irving lying on the hangar ground, working hard at a laptop with unknown intent.

"Pardon?"

"Who's set this trap?" Irving asked. "The Decepticons… or someone else?"

"Someone else like who?" Stacy asked.

"Harbinger."

Despite the reverence with which Irving seemed to hold the word, to Stacy it just seemed vague.

"What's Harbinger?"

"That's what everyone wants to know. Except for those who know nothing about it."

"What are you doing?" Gerin asked curtly.

"Trying to track down a stream of code that tore open a satellite in orbit," Irving replied. "Thanks to Ryder, it was pretty much confirmed as the satellite Soundwave had been hijacking since he came back in business. I think that code might have taken out Soundwave, although I'm not sure. Either way, I believe this mysterious Harbinger orchestrated it, so I'm trying to trace the code."

"This is all very fascinating," Ryder yawned. "But Decepticons and shady men behind the curtain notwithstanding, I think it's time we set out in search for Marcus."

"That reminds me," Irving muttered suspiciously. "I have reason to believe that secure information was leaked from this base to the satellite that was destroyed… do any of you three know anything about it?"

But the three of them knew nothing, as Irving had expected.

Almost out of hearing, Fearswoop sniggered.

"It's hard to protect the castle walls," he chuckled, "When the foundation is faulty…"

* * *

><p>"What do we do now?" Skywarp questioned, having vacated his role as leader for the time being.<p>

The five of them stood around in the throne room. No-one sat in Megatron's chair out of both anger from those who wanted to as well and for respect of the recently possessed leader. Astrotrain shrugged.

"As far as I can see it, we'd better go to wherever Shockwave headed and snap him out of it."

"Why Shockwave?" Flatline asked, his optic whirring over to stare unnervingly at Astrotrain.

"Because out of all the commanders, he has the clearest mind and would know what to do," Astrotrain answered. "Plus, he's basically unstoppable."

"I believe either Commander Soundwave or Commander Starscream would be able to take control of the situation much more effectively than Shockwave," Thundercracker argued. "We should concentrate on trying to retrieve one of them."

"Commander Soundwave never went down to Earth," Flatline muttered. "Apparently, a virus was uploaded to the satellite he was on, just before the crew of the _Ark _were possessed. There has been no signal from him since…"

There was a moody silence. Well, silence for the exception of Crashdive's immense self-control in not killing the hatchling that was scrambling over his head. He was venting fumes in absolute wrath.

"In that case," Thundercracker uttered. "It seems I will need to seek advice from someone who may know more."

The other four in the room turned in surprise.

"Who might you be referring to?" Astrotrain wondered.

"You don't mean…" Flatline hissed.

"I do."

Thundercracker headed for the exit. Astrotrain and Crashdive looked around in confusion, but Flatline and Skywarp looked at each other knowingly.

"Who's he talking about?" Astrotrain asked.

"Stormslayer."

Crashdive looked up, momentarily distracted from the annoying hatchlings. Astrotrain's jaw dropped open.

"Stormslayer?" he asked, incredulous. "That bastard switched sides so many times I swear he wasn't cybertronian! I thought Megatron killed him!"

"He almost did," Flatline explained. "But there was a reason he was the fastest Seeker in the sky; he escaped Cybertron, and the war with it."

"But I found him," Skywarp answered. "After Starscream's reign destroyed Trypticon, the Decepticons became scattered and confused. Although Onslaught took control of most of them, I fled into space. It was out there, in the Eshems Nebula, that I found him.

"He was barely alive, having encountered terrors I could only dream of. I decided to nurse him back to health, see what he knew. But when he finally awoke, all he did was ramble and scream, never making sense. He touted off strange stuff like 'the destroyer is coming' or 'Beware him'. He had snapped, so I decided to abandon him.

"But, strangely enough, he followed me. I'm still not sure to this day whether or not he was pretending to be insane, and really, it doesn't matter. But he followed and so I decided to let him; even though I had no idea where I was going. Eventually though, he split off. And, realising I had nowhere to go, I followed him."

"He led me here, to this moon, where Thundercracker and Flatline had just arrived. I had been out of the loop so long, it was quite a shock to learn about Cybertron's destruction, the Solar Harvester's destruction… everyone's destruction. But Stormslayer didn't seem to care. He just sat around in the dust, being soppy."

"One night, as we were planning the resurrection mission, Stormslayer just vanished. He disappeared off the surface of the moon and no-one knew where he had gone. Flatline wondered if he had gone back, to try and see if Cybertron was really destroyed. Yet I had the feeling that Thundercracker knew where he had gone all along…"

Crashdive seemed to have fallen asleep from Skywarp's recollection, yet Astrotrain was interested.

"So he's on Earth?" he asked.

"Seems so," Flatline answered, "And no doubt something Stormslayer said interested Thundercracker enough that he would remember it now of all times."

Crashdive awoke with a start. Flicking a wailing hatchling off of him, he stalked towards the door, drawing a huge scimitar from within him, the sword crackling with electricity.

"And where do you think you're going?" Skywarp asked in his commanding voice.

Crashdive turned to look at him in disgust, before pointing at where Blazemaster's head rested on a wall. He then drew a finger across his throat, before leaving.

The three remaining Decepticons pondered furiously over their next moves.

"Destroying the Autobots doesn't sound like a bad plan at all," Astrotrain muttered. "If it wasn't for the fact that the Decepticons have now been split apart like so many melons, I would actually endorse it."

"I don't know what you're whining about," Flatline said with a shrug. "I'm in."

The sadistic medic followed Crashdive out. Astrotrain and Skywarp were all that were left.

"Doesn't it feel like us lieutenants have no power whatsoever?" Skywarp asked.

Astrotrain shrugged. "No wonder Stormslayer went insane; your company's enough to implode my brain." He then turned to leave.

"Oh haha," Skywarp muttered as the other lieutenant left.

Skywarp was left alone. Well, almost alone.

"Oh scrap," he muttered, as several hungry hatchlings charged him.

* * *

><p>Fires raged as buildings fell. Sirens screeched through the night while people screamed and fled.<p>

It was into this chaos HARP was deposited yet again.

"Fan out, close them off," Epps ordered. "Anyone see any targets?"

"Negative sir," called out a soldier.

The Autobots followed through, Optimus with his sharpened keyblades, Arcee with her serrated blade, Mirage and Bumblebee with cannons, and Sixshot with his revolvers.

"We gotta make sure the Decepticons don't reach the White House, or the Capitol Building," Epps ordered. "This is probably their prime target; let's stop them here!"

There was a roar of military support, as tanks and jeeps powered down the darkened streets. The sounds of distant battle could be heard.

Two humongous planes flashed into the area in blue light.

"_Well, that was a trip_," muttered the pilot of one.

"Boogeyman, Warhammer, you got our backs?" Epps called into a mike as he was helped onto the back of a tank.

"_Roger that, Epps. We've got eyes in the sky up here_," came the pilot of the AC-130 'Boogeyman'.

"_Staff-Sergeant, we're seeing a mass of Decepticon activity around the Washington Monument,_" came the pilot of AC-130 'Warhammer'. "_They look like they're fixing up barricades around the thing._"

"Well, shit," Epps muttered. "Are our forces danger close?"

"_We can't fire with anything larger than the 45,_" Warhammer replied. _"Confirmed, 26__th__ Ranger's Battalion is currently in conflict with the Decepticons. Confirmed, N. 27 and 31 are in action._"

Epps wracked his brain to remember their names.

"Overcast and Shockwave?" he asked, hoping to god the latter wasn't there.

"_Overload and Shockwave, confirmed._"

Epps cursed. He looked around at the Autobots, who rushed ahead, and at the columns of armour and infantry, tanks and IFVs in neat and empowered rows. He looked up, knowing humongous AC-130s and F-35s flew through the air towards battle.

"We don't stand a chance," he muttered.

* * *

><p>And then, all across Earth's orbit, every communication satellite received the same string of code.<p>

Satellites from the Voyager to Sputnik, dead or alive, old or new, received the same string of code, smashing through every firewall or information defence, shattering every barricade in cyberspace.

And then, every single one of them, sent a message down to Earth.

Through every TV, through every radio, through every computer, through every street, through every household, through every town and every city… the same message played out, in every language.

"**We have arrived.**

"**We are Harbinger.**"

* * *

><p>"OPEN FIRE!" Epps roared.<p>

Rockets and shells poured into the barricades, missiles screaming from the sky to explode in a stunning inferno.

"**Do not attempt to resist us.**"

"KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!" Optimus roared, kicking back Overload.

Shockwave tore open a squadron of tanks.

"**For resistance is futile.**"

* * *

><p>In Buenos Aires, a world south of Washington, Starscream tore open a church, killing the soldiers inside with a mind that was not his own.<p>

"**Do not attempt to fight us.**"

Fighters were shot out of the sky.

"**For victory is impossible.**"

* * *

><p>Megatron crushed insects underfoot as he passed through Tokyo city, destroying blocks with his flail.<p>

"**Do not attempt to hide from us.**"

Fire rained down from the sky.

"**There will be no place to hide.**"

* * *

><p>"Holy shit," Cunningham muttered, from atop the Topaz Mountain.<p>

"**Do not attempt to survive.**"

"What is it sir?" asked his lieutenant.

"The world's gone to shit."

"**For you will not**."

* * *

><p>Soundwave's corpse floated through the void.<p>

And yet the message somehow reached his deaf ears.

"**We have arrived.**

"**We. Are. Harbinger.**"


	31. Chaos Ascension

*types manically while raving*

"Must... kill... more... characters... in... pointlessly... symbolic... ways..."

*laughs incredibly dramatically with villainous intent*

(P.S. thanks again to **Megan666** and **Answerthecall** for reviewing!)

* * *

><p><em>Dusty and decrepit.<em> Marcus walked in, guided by the stooped man with a polite voice. Dusty and decrepit, that was what this building was. Whatever it had been, it was no longer; although Marcus could tell from a couple of faded signs that it had been some kind of hospital.

"St. Jude's," the stooped man told Marcus, as if perceiving the kid's forthcoming question. "That is the name of this place. Or, as it was usually coined, the Psychopathic Institute for the Long-Term Insane. It was not a nice place, although it has improved since then."

Marcus looked around him. Broken floorboards and barred windows filled with rust did not seem to Marcus like an improvement over whatever it may have been.

"And in case you were wondering," the man continued. "We are in Baton Rouge, Louisiana."

_Louisiana? As in the state? How did I get from western Africa to here in one night? And when I wasn't even aware of it?_

"_You aren't aware of a lot of things, Marcus Twist," Allheart hissed._

"_The next time you speak, I'm slitting my throat."_

"If you are speaking to your Allheart friend, I'd advise you to ignore him," the man informed politely. "He's a real annoyance."

Marcus looked up in shock.

"Who are you?" he asked hurriedly. "How do you know my name?"

"My name is Steven Cooper," the man replied. "I know, not a very assuming name. But this hospital has been in my care for the past forty years and I am its only resident. And I know your name because my friend told me."

"You mean Allheart?" Marcus realised.

"No. I mean 'we'."

"So you're not the only resident?"

"I am. But a former one has left behind a history that I have gleaned vast knowledge from. Due to his lasting legacy and my lack of company here, I have referred to him as 'we'."

"But who was he?" Marcus asked desperately.

The man looked down at him. The old hospital seemed to creak with age, leaning in to pick up their voices.

"Captain Archibald Witwicky, of course."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 30.1: Chaos Ascension… Good Evening<span>

_The light that fills my lonely cell  
>Is blacked out by the key<br>They locked the door to the cell  
>The place they wanted me<br>Time's racing like the wind  
>Execution's near<br>And now I wait for death  
>And yes, I have no fear<em>

—**Devils Island**

* * *

><p>With a resounding crash, Thundercracker smashed through the jungle. His feet skidded through the mud and brush, knocking over trees and crushing houses. Panicking, young jungle fighters swung their Kalashnikovs up at the titan, firing in pathetic defiance. Snarling, the Decepticon cleaved them apart with his axe, blue turning red.<p>

"STORMSLAYER!" he roared. "GET OUT HERE!"

He blew up a technical that came too close, before smashing apart another house with a fallen tree.

"COWARD! TRAITOR!"

"Imbecile."

Thundercracker whirled around, glaring at Stormslayer.

The young turncloak glared back, his young body marred by rust for too many days spent in the jungle. Wielding a gleaming halberd, the former Seeker looked at Thundercracker with a form of respect and loathing.

A young African boy with an AK ran up to Stormslayer's leg.

"Mwalimu!"

"Stand back, child," Stormslayer muttered. "This is no longer your fight…"

The child, teary-eyed, fled the scene, leaving the two former Decepticons to duke it out in the jungle detritus.

"Pathetic!" Thundercracker spat. "To join with the insects…"

"They're much smarter than either you or me," Stormslayer argued. "They will survive long after we've all passed away…"

"Spare me your inane insolence," Thundercracker snarled, grabbing Stormslayer by the neck. "Tell me of this Harbinger!"

"Harbinger?" Stormslayer murmured, his optics suddenly far away. "Now there's a name I haven't heard for a while…"

"For a while?" Thundercracker hissed. "You've been here for almost a year! Are you saying Harbinger's not of this world?"

"Not of this world?" Stormslayer chuckled. "It was not of this world that I learned of Harbinger, where I was found in that nebula… lost and found… hearing the sound of progress…"

"Enough ranting!" Thundercracker bellowed. "WHAT IS HARBINGER?"

But Stormslayer was far away. "I was there… in the middle of a supernova. But not any supernova… an unnatural one. One caused by alien hands… caused by its voice. Lines of code, breaking through my mind, twisting apart my head, seeking out all my knowledge… Harbinger is not what nor who… but something… transcendent. Mocking us with its power over our heads, twisting our emotions and our minds… Harbinger… is already here, and has been for quite a while."

"WHAT. IS. HARBINGER?"

Stormslayer stared Thundercracker straight in the eye.

"I tried to escape its voice," he cried. "Don't you see? All that running was to escape Harbinger! But it was all a trick! _It was a trap!_ I was tricked into heading straight _for _Harbinger! Here, on Earth, amongst the humans, the one source of peace and tranquillity I found… it is here. Harbinger is already here. Harbinger is already here. Harbinger is already here…"

Thundercracker let go of Stormslayer, perturbed by his madness.

"Harbinger is inside of you already," Stormslayer announced, shaking and pointing a finger straight at Thundercracker. "Harbinger is inside of me. Harbinger is within everyone. Harbinger is next to you, _right there!_"

Thundercracker whirled to the side, brandishing his axe. But of course, there was only darkened jungle.

Stormslayer began to laugh.

Thundercracker's axe began to quiver in fury.

"But do you know what the funny thing is?" Stormslayer giggled. "The goal. The final objective. What Harbinger actually wants… I found out. In the Eshems Nebula, where Harbinger had already carved through, the last of its race… do you know what it was searching for all that time?"

Thundercracker looked at Stormslayer with unmitigated wrath.

And then Stormslayer told Thundercracker what Harbinger was searching for.

The lieutenant's optics widened in shock.

"How funny… how funny…" Stormslayer chortled, spreading his arms out wide. "And I have many right here!"

With one quick movement, Thundercracker decapitated Stormslayer, the axe slashing through his neck and spraying the green jungle with light-blue energon.

Stormslayer's corpse tumbled to the ground, a mess of metal and mud. Thundercracker looked down in disgust.

"You would not escape punishment again," he hissed. "I swore that. That was the last time you would ever betray us…"

Without another word, he transformed and shot into the sky.

As the echoes of his ascent faded, the jungle became silent and still once more.

Nothing moved.

Then, from out of the undergrowth, a boy crawled towards Stormslayer's head.

He wrapped his arms around it, tears rolling down his cheeks.

* * *

><p>One by one, they came back.<p>

First came the soldiers. Walking defeated, or carrying stretchers and running for the medics, they came back, a smaller and dismally crushed force. Torn-up tanks came with them, broken machines being towed. Overhead, half the aircraft that had gone in, came out.

Next came Sixshot, nonchalant and unimpressed. Out of ammo and out of luck regarding backup, he had had no choice but to retreat, the remaining Autobots following closely behind.

And follow they did. Bumblebee, Mirage and Arcee walked out of the light, injured and beaten. Arcee's own serrated blade had been driven through her knee, but thanks to its design, could not be pulled out. Mirage was holding a dismembered hand in his other, while Bumblebee had come off relatively unscathed, his yellow armour merely singed and burnt.

Finally, Optimus Prime came through, clutching a devastated arm in one hand, his armour torn away, his optics weary and unfocused. He staggered across the airfield, unaware or uncaring of the planes circling overhead, desperate to land. He sat down in the shade of a hangar, looking down at the ground.

"We can't ask him," Stacy said worriedly. "He'd either laugh at us or shout at us."

"By this point, I think he's gone through too much to even speak," Ryder replied. "Look at him. Look at all of them."

Stacy didn't need to. She simply sat back down on the asphalt and placed her head in her hands.

"It's no use," she muttered miserably. "No-one will help search for him. This is bigger than Marcus, bigger than us, bigger than everyone here."

Ryder shrugged, staring out his shades at the dissolution of a once proud army. He sighed.

"Harbinger's got the world in his pocket. He's cut off every satellite, taken over every line of communication, shutting it all down. Earth's in disarray."

"What the hell _is_ Harbinger?" Stacy asked.

"Damned if anyone knows," Ryder replied. "Irving's using one of his special computers to track down where Harbinger's signal came from… frankly, he'd be considerably lucky if he breaks it by tomorrow."

"And all the while, Marcus is probably starving in the desert," Stacy whispered, tears in her eyes.

"He won't be in the desert," Ryder whispered in return. "Whatever happened in that dream, it seems it only happened to me and him. Something took him that night, though where and what are good questions…"

"Could Harbinger have taken him?"

"Why would a superpower that can take over the entire world care about kidnapping a single child? No, this is something from within Marcus himself…"

"How do you know all this crap?"

Ryder shrugged. "I don't. I'm just a surprisingly perfect guesser."

Suddenly, a roar of triumph came from within the hangar. Stacy turned around in shock, but Ryder grimaced.

"I've tracked him down!" Irving cried, overjoyed. "Harbinger's broadcasting from an industrial facility in northern Wisconsin! I'll upload the coordinates!"

Ratchet turned angrily to the technician. "Are you insane? No-one's in any state to fight whatever might be there!"

"No, Ratchet…"

Optimus stood up and looked into the hangar, dropping his dismembered arm to the floor. He sighed, heavy and wrought…

"This… we need to stop this…"

"Optimus…" Ratchet muttered in dismay.

"Set up the Pillars," Optimus ordered, before turning back to where the Autobots lay wasting in the sun.

"Who can fight?" he asked.

Sixshot leapt to his feet, cocking his revolvers, nodding. Bumblebee groaned and stood up as well, but had to be helped by Sixshot. Mirage stared down at his dismembered hand, while Arcee looked regretfully at the blade in her leg.

"I'm sorry Optimus…" she began.

"Don't be. We all managed to hold off Shockwave enough for the evacuation to finish. You've done far too much today."

Arcee sat back, nodding in displeasure. "But I could always do more…"

"A true warrior knows his limits; he can no longer be considered a warrior if he breaks them."

Arcee nodded again, more sure of herself now. Mirage looked up, battered and broken.

"I can't even ask you," Optimus said, giving a dry chuckle. "It looks like you've been through the Pit and back."

Mirage nodded, before shutting down into stasis lock.

"Come, you two," Optimus ordered. "We need to find this Harbinger; then we can think about stopping the Decepticons. Without communication across the world, there's no chance of rallying a counterattack."

"Do you…" Bumblebee muttered, "Think that Harbinger is behind the Decepticon's attack?"

"What do you mean?" Optimus asked quizzically.

"What if Harbinger's working with the Decepticons?" Bumblebee ventured. "After all, he's made his announcement just as the Decepticons attack…"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" boomed a familiar voice.

General Mason strode towards the now-agitated aliens, bearing a fresh set of vociferous thunderclaps.

"HARBINGER'S DESTROYING OUR COMMUNICATIONS!" he thundered. "SO GET TO IT, SOLDIERS! SIDESWIPE AIN'T DEAD YET!"

Optimus glared at the general with unmatched hatred.

"DECEPTICONS ARE RUINING THE WORLD OVER!" Mason shouted. "AND YOU'RE STARTING A HISSY FIT AT MY TONE OF VOICE? _JUST FIND HARBINGER AND KILL THE BASTARD!_"

In the hangar, as Irving uploaded the coordinates to the Pillars, he felt worried.

_Timothy Dalton…_

_Harbinger…_

_The Decepticons were searching for Harbinger too. What does Soundwave know? I'm surprised he hasn't shown his hand in this scenario…_

Out of the corner of his eye, Irving saw Fearswoop snigger behind his cage.

_And, according to this loser, there's a traitor somewhere in HARP. That's hardly believable…_

_But…_

_Goddamnit, I've got a bad feeling about this._

* * *

><p>Marcus was led down a dusty corridor, darkened save for some flickering fluorescent bulbs. Cooper walked ahead of him, stooped and wisened.<p>

"_How long's he been here?"_

"_Long enough to read."_

"_That makes no sense."_

"_The more you spend with a foreign language, the easier it is to read…"_

"_That also makes no sense."_

"_Argue all you like, Mr Twist, but the truth will break you."_

"_And then what?"_

"_Then, you must say 'yes'."_

"_Your obnoxious riddle-making is starting to wear my head down."_

"This was his cell."

Marcus turned to look inside.

The walls, floor and ceiling of the tiny room were covered in cybertronian glyphs. There was nary an object in sight; there was no bed, no chairs, no books… and from some of the plumbing debris in the wall, there was no longer a sink.

"My father was the former caretaker and had everything taken out," Cooper said. "He spent days in here, each new symbol opening up a thousand different ways of reading it. He recorded it all, leaving me to pick up what he couldn't. The knowledge of the universe is held within these four walls."

"Even if he was maddened by some cybertronian symbols imprinted in his eyes," Marcus said carefully. "I doubt that would give the Captain the knowledge of the universe."

"Cybertronian and humans minds were never supposed to meet," Cooper told him. "Megatron spent so much time in the trail of the blazing Allspark, that some of the knowledge from that infernal device flaked off and entered the Decepticon leader's subconscious. When Witwicky's mind spliced with Megatron's mind, information unrecorded drilled into him. It is commonly thought that Witwicky activated Megatron's navigation system when he touched him; but that is actually wrong. Witwicky actually entered Megatron's memory banks; and picked up too much memory for his trouble."

"How do you know all this?" Marcus asked.

Cooper pointed into the cell. "It is written. It is the most exhausting biography in history. But it's not just the past recorded within these walls; thanks to the power of the Allspark, Witwicky saw the future."

"The future?" Marcus stifled a guffaw. "Now you're pulling my leg…"

Cooper looked Marcus in the eye and tapped the kid on the side of the head. "He saw you coming here, with a piece of the Allspark locked in your mind. He foresaw Harbinger, something so powerful, yet so insignificant. Well, insignificant for everyone except you…"

"Me?" Marcus asked worriedly. "Why me? And what the hell is Harbinger?"

Cooper raised an eyebrow. "Seen a TV lately?"

"No."

"Heard a radio?"

"No."

"Have a cellphone?"

"No."

"You wouldn't have heard of Harbinger then," Cooper realised. "But believe me… you will."

He indicated the cell.

"Please step inside, Mr Twist."

"_Do as he says. I will show you everything."_

Marcus looked from Cooper to the cell. He gazed around at all the cybertronian glyphs.

"All of them…" he whispered. "They hold so many secrets… yet I can't read them."

"Witwicky only got a flash of the Allspark's power," Cooper replied. "What you have inside of you—" He tapped the side of Marcus's head. "—Is far more… potent."

"_You can translate the symbols?" Marcus asked._

"_In a moment, I won't have to…_

"_Step inside."_

Marcus took a tentative step into the cell. Rain dripped down from his clothes, each impact upon the floor sounding out with an echoing quality. He gulped, the bulb overhead flickering.

He stood in the middle, looking around at the alien language. He shook his head.

"I can't read it," he said. "It's no use."

He turned around.

Cooper was gone. There had been no footsteps, no echoes and there was no trace of him ever being there.

"Another one of your twisty hallucinations?" Marcus hissed.

"_You should learn to be more trusting," Allheart uttered. "Now… read."_

"But I can't!" Marcus cried out in frustration. He sat back onto the ground, dejected and miserable.

"You've taken me out here, somehow, for no other reason than to show me some alien graffiti! And something called Harbinger! What the hell is Harbinger anyway? Why can't you just tell me? Why must we go through all this riddle shit? Why act all mysterious and omnipotent when you're nothing more than a CRAZY SPLIT PERSONALITY!

"I just want to go home… I want to be with Stacy and, hell, even Ryder. They're my friends, something I doubt you can understand, with all your stupid acts… just take me back. I don't want to be here, in this place. I want to be with them. Just to see them again…"

Marcus felt tears coming to his eyes. Drenched from the rain, he blinked in and out of the dark with the flicker of the light.

_Allheart looked at him, with something akin to pity… and envy._

"_You do realise," he muttered. "That omnipotence is a curse."_

"…_It is?"_

"_Why do you think I went by the moniker, 'Malevolus'?"_

"_To sound intimidating?"_

"_To show you who I am," Malevolus whispered. "That I am real as well. I look out your eyes at a world I cannot touch, a world I cannot feel, a world that is no more than a shadow to me. I did not have this sentience when I was the Allspark; it was nothing but power. I cannot remember what it was like… only, now that I finally have the freedom of thought and invention, I am locked within your cerebral prison; an observer, not a god._

"_And yet I know all. I see all. And… I believe… I can control all. Yet I do not try. Do you know why? Because there would be no fun. No challenge. No true life. Life is not life without its challenges… and I set my greatest challenge as the challenge not to die. And, for fun, I will manipulate what I can to further increase the challenge, this game called life._

"_So I will not tell you what they say, Marcus. But let me tell you this; I am Malevolus. I live in your mind, where I own the night, and show you what is to happen or what has already happened. I. Am. Malevolus. The only power you hold over me is that when you die… I may join you in that noble brotherhood."_

Silence stretched out through the asylum.

The light flickered.

Slowly, meaningfully, Marcus got to his feet and gazed up at the light.

On.

Off.

On.

Off.

_Tick._

_Tock._

"You melodramatic piece of shit," Marcus whispered.

"_Fuck you," Malevolus chuckled. "We're in this together. So we share our secrets; here's mine."_

Suddenly, the words on the walls came tumbling into recognition. Marcus could read them all… read every one.

In a split second, he knew the truth about Harbinger.

And tears fell from his eyes.

* * *

><p>Thundercracker slammed into the ground, dirt and mud spraying down from the hill. Astrotrain, Crashdive and Flatline looked on with barely-hidden interest. For miles and miles around, forest and night covered the land.<p>

"Did you find him?" Astrotrain asked.

Thundercracker's axe appeared from his arm, coated with energon.

"Ah," Astrotrain murmured knowingly.

"What did you get out of him?" Flatline said keenly. "Anything about who Harbinger is or what it's done to the other Decepticons?"

"I learned nothing about Harbinger," Thundercracker growled. "Save what he wants…"

Astrotrain and Flatline instinctively hovered closer to get a good listen. Even Crashdive kept an ear out.

"He wants…"

Thundercracker let the silence spill out for a few seconds so as to amuse him.

"…A sun."

There was a moment's silence.

"A… sun?"

"A sun."

"As in… a sun?"

"A sun."

There was another moment's silence.

Finally, Crashdive grunted, as if to say; _Well, that was a load of bullshit._

"Why in the name of the Pit would he come here for a sun?" Astrotrain asked, angry at the lack of clarity. "There are billions of stars in the sky! He could have picked any of them!"

"Maybe there's something special about this sun," Flatline said thoughtfully, yet was unconvinced.

"Whatever the reason," Thundercracker hissed. "Harbinger's controlling our leaders and comrades."

There was a general nodding of heads in agreement.

"As we are the only ones left," he continued. "It is up to us to help free them, before the humans and Autobots eventually and inevitably destroy them."

Again, general nodding.

"So, from where I stand, it seems we only have one choice…"

There was no head nodding now. The Decepticons waited for him to present his choice.

"We either let all the other Decepticons die," Thundercracker uttered. "Or we go to the Autobots."

There was silence. Then a general shaking of heads in shock and negativity, while Crashdive let out a booming rumble of a laugh.

"Are you insane?" Astrotrain asked in shock. "Go to the Autobots? Why the hell should we do that?"

"Because Harbinger's shut everything on this planet down," Thundercracker replied darkly. "The Autobots will be searching for Harbinger as well. If we work together, then we can go back to killing the Autobots and insects after we've torn apart Harbinger, head to feet."

"That…" Flatline muttered. "Sounds plausible."

Crashdive stopped laughing. He looked at them all, enraged that they were actually considering it. Astrotrain scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"At this very moment, Megatron could be getting pounded," he muttered. "We don't have much time…"

Crashdive turned, furious on their course of action.

"So it's settled," Thundercracker growled.

"We're going to Kublak Han."

* * *

><p>"<em>All base personal, please vacate the runway,<em>" the tannoy announced across Kublak Han. "_Boogeyman is taking off._"

There were a few muted cheers as the lumbering AC-130 gunship swung its way onto the strip, ready to join the Autobots in wherever they were heading… which was wherever Harbinger was hiding.

"You sure about the signal's position?" Mason asked gruffly.

"Absolutely, sir," Irving replied.

"Everyone's grip is slipping," Mason continued. "You seem to be one of the few sane ones left on this goddamn base; make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"Sound advice, sir," Irving replied dryly.

"General," a voice called.

The two of them turned, both of them rather surprised to see Ryder approaching. He did not look happy.

"Have you sent out a search party for Marcus yet?" he asked.

"Search party?" Mason wondered. "Why? Is he missing?"

"No, I'm just asking for a search party so that you can find the shits you couldn't give."

Mason flexed his fingers in a most threatening way, causing Irving to sigh.

"Here we go again…" he muttered.

"HOW COULD YOU LET OUR DECEPTICON TRACKER DISAPPEAR?" Mason exclaimed.

"Probably, seeing as I'm not a general or anything, because it's not my job."

"AND YOU'RE TELLING ME NOW?" Mason fumed.

"Believe me, you're the last person I came to ask for help," Ryder muttered. "But if we don't find him soon, I think something bad will happen…"

"You 'think'?" Mason echoed in much more superior tones. "My God; the amazing Ryder actually _thinks_? Stop the motherfucking presses."

Ryder pushed his shades back up his nose. "You know, general, you're getting on my nerves while _still _not doing anything to help anyone."

"Well, I'm afraid it's too late," Mason sniffed, turning away, nose in the air. "The last useful Autobots are going to track down this Harbinger, which requires my full attention. Besides… seeing as the Decepticons are wrecking Earth as we speak, we don't really need to find them or any more of those blasted Pillars."

He looked to where Optimus, Bumblebee and Sixshot prepared to head through the Pillars to where Harbinger awaited.

Irving looked from Ryder to the general. Ryder didn't move.

Then, suddenly, the teenager whipped up ELLIPSIS as if out of nowhere and cracked the general over the skull with it. With barely a shiver, Mason fell flat on his face, out cold.

Ryder looked at the shocked technician.

"I won't say I'm sorry," the teenager muttered with a shrug. "That git has had that coming for a long time."

Irving's jaw slowly closed. A flicker of a smile appeared.

"You can't stay on the base though."

"I was planning on leaving anyway."

"Well you'd best hurry, wherever you're going."

Ryder's sunglasses looked to where the Autobots disappeared into the blue light. Behind them, the sun set low in the sky.

"Do me a favour and keep it open a little longer."

Irving smiled. "Yes, _sir_."

As Ryder ran towards the portal, Irving picked up a phone.

"Medical? …Yeah, this is Irving; General Mason's suffered a rather unfortunate accident…"

* * *

><p>Cunningham could tell the men were restless. Stuck in a small system of caves all day and night long, nothing to do but spy on the base far below… that could certainly get to a man's head. But now even Cunningham was perturbed; he couldn't get in touch with command, instead getting an ear-full of Harbinger's proclamation.<p>

The commander stared about him. The blackened walls of the Topaz Mountain reflected the little light that came from the men's torches, casting grim shadows upon each other. Opals, filled with dismay and regret, came in pairs within each downtrodden face. Cunningham knew his would match those around him, the tiniest colour in the blackest gloom.

"Sir," his lieutenant whispered. "We're running low on rations; we'll need to abandon the mission soon. We can't watch Kublak Han forever."

"I know," Cunningham sighed. "I know…"

Silence stretched out again. The shadows flickered as the torches moved, in hand.

"I'm going for a piss," Cunningham said bitterly, standing up yet keeping low enough so as not to hit his head on the low ceiling. He made his way through the tunnels, using no light, finding his path through memory.

He gasped in beautiful fresh air as he saw stars overhead. He stood on the edge of a cliff, looking down at Kublak Han in the distance. He saw the African sun slowly dip behind the hills.

He spat into the dark, before unzipping and relieving himself down the mountainside. But he kept his glare squarely on the lighted base in the jungle.

"Fucking Autobots," he uttered darkly. "And the fucking traitors. Why can't they see that all those aliens are dangerous? They are only allied with themselves; why can't idiots like Mason see this? Or maybe he has, yet has no choice in the matter. Fucking politics… fuck them… fuck all of them…

"Earth is shit, I know that," he continued drowsily. "But every obstacle, every problem humanity has ever encountered, it's dealt with itself. We don't need any of these goddamn xeno-microwaves, that just morph into goddamn robots. Robots… haha. Humanity, saved by machines… how fucking… stupid."

Finished, he turned and almost leapt off the mountain in shock. The silhouette of a large man had been right behind him, listening in the dark.

"Private Sampson?" Cunningham asked darkly. "Is that you?"

The silhouette made no answer.

Cunningham shivered. "Just… don't sneak up on me like that again.

The silhouette remained silent.

"…Sampson? Is that you?"

"I am sorry, but Harbinger has designated you disposable."

* * *

><p>Ratchet sighed, and stood up straight. He headed for the hangar exit.<p>

Kaminari looked up from where she had finished patching up Sideswipe's head. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Ratchet didn't hesitate. "To get the Wreckers."

Work around the room stopped. Scientists and technicians looked up in shock.

"B-But—" Kaminari began.

"Yes, they are exiled," Ratchet said, stopping and turning to look at them. "But they never left Earth. And yes, I know the general would be very displeased, but he can go shove it. We need them. We are running out of both troops and time; the Wreckers can provide both."

Another thoughtful silence pervaded the hangar. Finally, Kaminari Ishihara nodded and pointed outwards.

"Go then," she said. "You're right; we need all the help we can get this time."

Ratchet felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You ain't going alone," Mirage muttered through the pain.

Ratchet turned and assessed him. "You should rest—"

"Bullshit," Mirage spat. "I've had enough injuries to know which ones I can walk through."

"Count me in as well!" Arcee exclaimed. "I've done enough sitting on my ass for one day!"

"I'll round up a squad," Epps called, entering the hangar. "You never know what we'll meet out there."

Ratchet gazed around, a great sense of pride filling him from head to toes.

_Is this how it's really like, Optimus? Is this how it feels to lead? To know that people trust you, listen to you… respect you? Is this leadership? If so…_

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>All was silent as the first rays of morning reflected off cold steel and hard concrete. Grey and black clouds departed for an American morning, as dusk ended so far away. Up above, 'Boogeyman' watched them all, making sure there were no enemies for miles around.<p>

"Harbinger's in here?" Sixshot asked.

Optimus nodded, wincing at the pain in the stump where his left arm had been. He could no longer remember how many times he had lost it, every battle moulding into another… the past all too similar.

_How many battles has it been? How many times have we won… and lost? How long must this war continue? It should have ended with Megatron's death… it should have ended with the Fallen's death… it should have ended with Sentinel's death. It should have ended, so many times…_

_So must it be my death then? Is that what will end the war? For now, it must—_

"Where do we start?" Bumblebee asked gruffly.

"It starts one step at a time."

The three Autobots turned to look down at Ryder, ELLIPSIS on his shoulders.

Sixshot chuckled while Bumblebee made a tutting noise. "Is there ever an operation you won't attempt to stowaway on?"

"Of course not," Ryder replied. "But this is one I won't be coming back from."

Optimus frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Either A; I leave for good, because no-one gives a shit about anything important anymore or B; I die in this incredibly obvious trap."

"Trap?" Bumblebee asked hurriedly. "What trap?"

"Irving tracked this place down in no time at all," Ryder sighed. "Harbinger can control the world's communications, yet he can't remain anonymous for a single day? We only found him, because he wants to be found."

Sixshot frowned. "You sure of this?"

Ryder shrugged.

The Autobots looked around, staring into the darkened factories, twisting pipes and closed industries. They no longer seemed serene; rather, daunting and dangerous, every shadow hiding a killer, every wall protecting an army.

"Then what's waiting for us?" Bumblebee asked quietly.

"Who knows," Sixshot muttered. "It could be—"

But whatever it could have been was quickly drowned out by what it was.

The entire network of factories and smokestacks exploded.

With a roaring that could be heard in space, a blazing inferno consumed the three Autobots and the solitary human.

The blast travelled high into the sky, showering sparks and debris.

Ash fell from the heavens.

* * *

><p>Something smashed into the runway outside, jolting the occupants of the hangar, with the exception of the comatose Sideswipe.<p>

"What was that?" someone cried.

"Calm down!" Kaminari called back. "It's probably just Ratchet setting up the Pillars…"

"They just left!"

Irving slowly got to his feet, peering carefully out of the hangar, yet could see nothing in the night.

And then a humongous silhouette appeared at the entrance.

"Peekaboo," Thundercracker growled with a killer's smile.

* * *

><p>The desert rolled out beneath them, the evening sun casting red light upon the ancient sands.<p>

"Audi Sarabia?" Mirage asked. "I thought the Wreckers had had enough of this place."

"Apparently, a new tyrant took over as soon as Akil Farrah was thrown out," Ratchet informed him. "I believe the Wreckers wanted to get rid of him as well."

Epps shaded his eyes from the sun with his hand. "I've had enough of goddamn deserts…" he muttered. "And some things never change."

But despite the endless rolling expanse of sand, there was one deformity.

"What's that?" Arcee asked.

Ratchet nodded. "A cave; it's where the Wreckers were last seen entering. Apparently, they've stuck there ever since…"

"Why?" Epps asked.

No-one answered.

They approached the large red rock, a gaping hole marking its features. Within, there was only darkness.

"It doesn't look that big," Epps noted, checking out the entrance.

"I assume it must go underground—" Ratchet said.

And then Leadfoot came charging out of the cave, roaring manically, and tore Ratchet's throat out.


	32. Chaos Exultation

Right... gotta calm down with all the killings... *wipes forehead*

Anyhow, this is the penultimate chapter for Season 2! Season finale next week!

Thanks to **Megan666 **and **Answerthecall **for all your reviews!

And special thanks to **Toothless-the-nightfury **for your review! I would love to hear what you consider to be the flaws in this story, just as long as you give a couple of highlights! ;)

And, finally, I reveal Harbinger in this episode. It should come as quite a shock to many, which is exactly what I'm aiming for!

But, before that happens, let's see who's on the moon...

* * *

><p>Skywarp was on the moon, knee-deep in wriggling and utterly despicable little creatures. He begrudgingly stopped himself from stepping on the encroaching hatchlings and looked up towards the Earth.<p>

"Why did I ever agree to this?" he moaned. "I'd prefer eternal solitude to these things!"

He glared resentfully at the planet in the distance. It was quite small from here, Skywarp realised. He raised a thumb and forefinger to his optic and crushed the Earth between them. He raised his hand, yet that disgusting little planet was still there.

_Along with Thundercracker and Flatline, having all the fun, _he moaned inwardly. _Why did I volunteer to stay here?_

Then he remembered.

_To survive._

He stood motionless for a few seconds, staring at the far-off planet, allowing the starving hatchlings to nibble on his feet with their blunt teeth.

Suddenly, he stepped forward, the hatchlings stopping to watch him go.

He stood now only a few meters closer to the Earth, his back turned to the hatchlings, who watched him with wide-eyed fascination.

Skywarp began to tap his foot. Each thump of his right foot formed the same pattern again and again, never changing the footprint.

He began to hum.

The taps became faster.

He picked up speed with the tapping, as did his humming become faster and more intricate. A couple of the hatchlings tried to copy this, but were too weak to do more than five taps each before falling over and crying for energon.

Skywarp was ignorant to their pleas. He tapped faster and faster and faster and—

He suddenly jumped into the air, before landing and prancing about in the low gravity. He led a bazaar of jubilant leaps and bounds, dancing upon the moon. He began to laugh as he danced, twirling like a fool, cackling like a genius.

Finally, he faced the hatchlings, who looked up at him with dull surprise.

"Don't you see?" he cried, enjoying his position. "I'm alive! I'm up here, far from the battle… there's no way I can possibly be killed!"

He began his dance again, before being interrupted.

"Oh really?"

Skywarp stopped in mid-air, crashing to the ground in shock. He looked up to the roof of the _Ark_.

Two figures sat there, legs dangling over the edge. Three enlightened red optics stared down at him.

Skywarp was confused for a few seconds. Then he recognised them.

"N-No!" he whispered with dread. "You're… You're both d-dead!"

Ramjet landed on the lunar surface, brandishing an axe. "Of course we are. But we've come to haunt your dreams, Skywarp…"

"Stop scaring the fool," Dreadwing muttered reproachfully, joining his comrade on the surface. "Yes, Skywarp, we were dead. Things change…"

Skywarp eyed the undead suspiciously. But he knew better then to show fear to these freaks, resurrection aside.

"The last I saw of you lot, you two were both under the ground," Skywarp remembered. "And Onslaught was in charge…"

"You stuck with him, didn't you Skywarp?" Ramjet asked. "Admittedly, that was a wise choice. Almost as wise as leaving before Cybertron was nearly destroyed thanks to Sentinel's Pillars."

"But how can you be here?" Skywarp asked again, panicking. "Have you been sent by the Pit?"

"The Pit?" Ramjet laughed. "Oh no. Much worse than that."

Dreadwing eyed his friend reproachfully before turning to Skywarp. "We come at the behest of the destroyer."

"The Destroyer?" Skywarp muttered in wonder.

"The destroyer. Actually, yeah, _Destroyer _is better."

"Whatever," Ramjet interrupted. "The point is, the Destroyer wants these hatchlings. Are you going to give them up?"

"Give them up?" Skywarp repeated, watching the two others closely. "Why would I do that?"

"Because we're offering you a new career," Ramjet said with a malicious grin. "A fresh start; to wipe the slate clean."

"We want you to join us," Dreadwing continued bluntly. "To join the Destroyer's legions."

"Why does this 'Destroyer' want the hatchlings?" Skywarp asked suspiciously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ramjet sighed.

"No."

"Here's why; he's rebuilding Cybertron."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 30.2: Chaos Exultation… Good Night<span>

_Sweet Dreams are made of these  
>Who am I to disagree?<br>I travel the world and the seven seas  
>Everybody's looking for something…<em>

—**Sweet Dreams**

* * *

><p>"<em>This is Boogeyman, we can't see Optimus or the others! Emergency services are on their way, as are the National Guard. Goddamnit… there's a lot of smoke up here. We may have to return to base. Command, do you read, over?"<em>

"_Command, do you read over?"_

"_Command? Oh, goddamnit that's right; communications are out!"_

* * *

><p>"I'm looking for Optimus Prime," Thundercracker announced, stroking an axe.<p>

Out on the airfield, the four Decepticons stared down the staff of Kublak Han, daring them to try and find weapons. Kaminari had assumed a sort of command in lieu of General Mason, who lay in the medical wing with a rather well-deserved concussion. She looked up, angry, yet scared by the imposing and now infamous Decepticon.

"And why are you looking for him, instead of wiping us all out?" she asked hotly.

"Oh, we'll save that for later," Thundercracker chuckled. "But for now we share a common… interest."

Kaminari nodded. "Harbinger?"

Thundercracker snorted, having underestimated their knowledge. "Harbinger has taken over the other Decepticons using a form of mind-control, but only those who have previously died; we need the Autobots' help in taking it down, so as to resume the war we've all come to love."

"So Harbinger takes out the world's communications _and _sends the Decepticons on a world-wide killing spree. Sounds like he's got his hands full."

"Either way, I think it would be in our best interests to suspend our current war in order to wage a much more… united one."

"It's too late for that," Kaminari announced. "Optimus is already heading off to where Harbinger is right now."

This surprised the Decepticons, but it only took a second for Flatline to snort in derision.

"Then it's a trap," he chuckled. "Harbinger isn't that foolish."

"Tell him to come back right away," Thundercracker growled. "Even if it's not a trap, we're still the biggest threat at the moment." He stroked his axe with a razor-sharp claw. "Or would you like to prove me wrong?"

Kaminari glowered at the Decepticon, yet knew she wouldn't put anyone else at risk. But all of a sudden, there came an alarmed shout from within the hangar.

"Something's happened in Wisconsin!" Irving cried. "Something's taken out Optimus and the others!"

"How do you know?" Astrotrain asked.

"Their signals have vanished off our trackers; either something's covering them or…"

"They're dead!" Flatline whooped. "This day is turning out better and better!"

Thundercracker entered the hangar, inspecting Sideswipe's body, but at the same time moving towards Irving. "Send us there," he ordered.

"S-Send you to the Autobots?" Irving asked, scared.

Thundercracker glared at him. "Now."

Irving gulped and started typing in the Pillar commands, just as Thundercracker noticed a cage at the back.

"What is this?" he bellowed.

Fearswoop awoke from his energon-saving stupor and saw Thundercracker staring at him from outside of the cage. His face lit up.

"Lieutenant Thundercracker!" he cried. "Thank Primus, you've taken the base! Let me guess; the Autobots suffered long and—"

"Shut up," Irving muttered loud enough.

"Release him," Thundercracker ordered. "Immediately."

"That's not your choice to make!" Kaminari cried as the others entered the room. "We aren't giving up our prisoners!"

As Kaminari and Thundercracker began to roar at each other, Flatline slid up to Fearswoop's cage and scratched his chin, deep in thought.

"How is it that you're not possessed?" he wondered. "After all, you've died before…"

Fearswoop shrugged. "I dunno about anyone getting possessed or anything, but it might be because of this cage."

"Maybe. Or it could be that whatever took over them only affected those on the moon…"

Thundercracker had had enough. He whipped out a blaster. "OPEN THIS CAGE NOW, OR I WIPE OUT EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU DISGUSTING INSECTS!"

Kaminari looked like she was about to argue back, given her rage, but she finally sighed submissively.

"Private Frederick, please shut down Fearswoop's force-field…"

As a soldier headed off to do as she bid, Thundercracker looked down at Kaminari with unmatched loathing.

"If any of you filthy bugs ever argue against me again," he vowed. "I'll tear apart—"

A missile slammed into Thundercracker's chest, sending him sprawling backwards and crushing a few scientists.

The four Decepticons turned to see eight sizeable cybertronian robots staring them down.

"This is L.M. 1," announced one of the dark-green automatons. "All Decepticon units; cease hostilities at once!"

The three standing Decepticons looked to one another, unsure of how to proceed and unsure of the strength of their new opponents.

But Thundercracker was getting up, his optics already showing his course of action.

Suddenly, a bright blue light filled a corner of the hangar. Irving leapt up, trying all he could to defuse the situation.

"The portal's open!" he cried. "You can leave now!"

"LEAVE?" Thundercracker roared. "HOW DARE—!"

"I think it would be wise, _lieutenant_," Astrotrain muttered. "That we concentrate on the real enemy."

Thundercracker looked from his fellow soldier to the Landmine units. The room waited with baited breath, every human knowing that the four Decepticons could easily destroy the eight Landmines.

"Fine then," Thundercracker growled, obviously not pleased with his own decision. "But Crashdive, you stay here; make sure they release Fearswoop. We'll be back soon…"

With a last distasteful glance around the room, Thundercracker, Flatline and Astrotrain headed through the blue light. When the portal was closed shut the Landmine units lowered their weapons. Sighs of relief were heard around the room, the biggest of all coming from Fearswoop.

"Alright then," he said. "Now, for Pit's sake, someone open this cage!"

Private Frederick, who was still sweating bullets, headed towards the force-field control panel.

"You know, I'm going to miss you guys," Fearswoop chuckled. "It was fun watching your tiny insect brains trying to work everything out—"

With a resounding crunch, Crashdive raised a foot and plastered Private Frederick all over the hangar floor. There were several screams and the Landmine units instantly raised their weapons again.

"DECEPTION, THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!" L.M. 1 cried. "CEASE ALL HOSTILITIES IMMEDIATELY!"

"What the fuck are you doing?" Fearswoop raged incredulously. "He was about to release me you mute oh shit."

Fearswoop finally looked at Crashdive's face. Everyone did.

Crashdive had been unable to voice his opinion on Thundercracker's decision to leave him behind and he was not happy about it. In fact, Thundercracker had looked positively bashful compared to how Crashdive's optics glazed over with wrath as he wiped his foot on the concrete.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kaminari cried. "He told you just to stay!"

Crashdive fixed her with such a look that Kaminari felt terror flow through her heart… terror she had not felt in a long time. Slowly, for all to see, Crashdive drew a thumb across his throat. The message was clear.

He drew his massive electrical scimitar from his back, and paced slowly towards L.M. 1.

* * *

><p>"STOP!" Mirage cried as Leadfoot brought a mace down upon him, causing the other Autobot to raise a blade in defence. "IT'S US!"<p>

Ratchet crawled away, energon leaking from his neck. Arcee bent low and began tending to him while the soldiers raised their weapons up at Leadfoot, unsure on whether to fire or not.

"IT'S US!" Mirage continued to roar as Leadfoot kept on attacking. "LEADFOOT!"

But now that the shock was over, everyone could get a clear look at Leadfoot. He was raving, energon leaking from his lips, bellowing and roaring. He looked like he had rabies or some other maddening disease… and he didn't hesitate in attacking Mirage.

He brought the mace down again and again, never seeming to tire. Mirage kept on blocking, but his blade was being battered back, bending in from Leadfoot's crushing blows.

Epps, looking to where Ratchet was still gurgling his own vital fluids, and made a decision.

"Open fire!" he ordered.

There was second's hesitation, before several rockets and sabot rounds smashed into Leadfoot's back. Unperturbed, the Wrecker roared and turned to face the new threat, allowing Mirage to stab Leadfoot in the back.

Yet the Wrecker still fought. He kicked and squirmed, roaring unintelligently as his own life-force drained away.

"I…" Mirage muttered, struggling to keep the blade in Leadfoot's chest. "Didn't… want… to… do… this…"

He yanked the blade out and with a furious swipe, decapitated the Wrecker with his other blade.

Almost lazily, Leadfoot's heavy body dropped to the sand. His head followed shortly afterwards, rolling across the dunes.

No-one said anything for a second.

Then:

"It has to be Harbinger," Mirage concluded, wiping his blades on the sand.

Epps nodded, although he wasn't sure. He had looked up into Leadfoot's optics and had seen something… demonic. Almost hungry…

"Do you think he killed the others?" Arcee asked as she finally got Ratchet's bleeding under control. The Autobot medic looked up gratefully.

"Or they might have been possessed as well," Epps noted. "And are just deeper…"

They all looked towards the cave entrance. Dark and foreboding, no-one truly wanted to find out the answers to the questions everyone held within.

Ratchet pointed towards the entrance and shook his head, making it clear what he wanted no-one to do.

"Sorry, old man," Mirage chuckled. "I'm going to find the Wreckers. We need them; and if Harbinger's taken them then… then they're a threat. Either way, we need to go down there."

Ratchet looked reluctant for an instant. But he understood and slowly nodded.

"Well you ain't going down alone," Epps said, cocking his sabot launcher. "Alright, who's with me?"

The men all stood up. Near all of them were new recruits, fresh off the horrifying Battle of New York. They had seen what the Decepticons could do; Harbinger couldn't be much worse.

"Ratchet's in no position to fight," Arcee told them. "And with my injured leg, I'm not really either. We'll stay up here."

Mirage nodded, moving with the soldiers towards the cave.

Together, they went into the shadow of the red rock.

* * *

><p><em>Every time I go out, I just get blown up.<em>

_So why I am out here again?_

_To find Harbinger… to save the world from destruction. The usual shtick._

Optimus spat out a tooth, his consciousness returning. His bleary and dirty optics switched on, seeing nothing but fire. It raged through sky, burning the metal and melting the soil…

_Or was it the other way around?_

And then a figure strode through the flames, resplendent in reflective blue, cunning optics held within a horrifying head. Grinning teeth gnashed together with delight at the Prime's failure.

"Oh, Optimus," Thundercracker uttered. "Every time we meet, I just walk all over you."

Optimus coughed out several lungfuls of soot and ash.

"It seems like such a long time ago that I was the one who saved this war from certain defeat," Thundercracker mused. "And now I need your help in saving it again."

Optimus slowly got to his knees, staring down at the ground.

"So then, Optimus," Thundercracker chuckled, looking down at him. "I am sure we can… negotiate…"

"You won't like my terms," the Prime muttered.

Leaping to his feet, Optimus socked Thundercracker right in the jaw, sending the Decepticon crashing back through the fire. He spearheaded the ash, crashing through the flaming debris of the old industrial site.

He groaned and sat up, as Optimus drew a keyblade.

"I'm sure I won't…" the Decepticon hissed. "Here are mine."

He leapt through fire and flames, axe and blade meeting in a cascade of sparks.

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh, woe is me," Malevolus laughed. "To see the revelation dawn!"<em>

"_It's impossible!" Marcus cried in distress. "There's no way! You're lying!"_

"_When have I ever lied to you?"_

Marcus knelt in the ancient cell, tears streaming down from his eyes. He banged the floor with a bruised hand, words of condemnation surrounding him. He felt as if he was drowning, the devastating revelation pouring into his brain, every word a knife to his heart.

"It… it can't be true…"

"_Do you wish to be taken back?"_

The tears stopped. Marcus looked up at the flickering light.

"B-But…"

"_Your friends are waiting for you…"_

Marcus nodded. "Please… I don't want to think about any of this…"

"_Then let us go."_

One last tear dropped to the floor.

"Take me away…"

Marcus was swallowed up by infinite darkness.

* * *

><p>They found Roadbuster and Topspin a while later.<p>

Deep underground, using nothing but flashlights to navigate the darkened caverns, Mirage and the soldiers slipped past stalagmites and potholes, keeping a wary eye on the largest shadows.

But as it turned out, there was no need to be so wary.

Topspin was the first sign of other life they found. Or rather, lack of life. His head had been torn from his body, his arms shattered and twisted, his torso impaled upon a stalagmite.

Roadbuster was a few feet away, leaning against the cavern wall. He had been disembowelled, his cybertronian organs flung in all directions, energon painting the cave.

"They tore each other apart," Epps whispered in horror. He stared around the cybertronian abattoir, as other soldiers pocketed small pieces of loose armour as souvenirs.

"The Wreckers are dead," Mirage muttered morosely. "They were some of the toughest soldiers we had…"

A guttural moaning echoed through the cavern. Everyone froze.

"They're not all dead!" Epps roared. "Everyone, fan out and search!"

The haunting moaning continued, wracked by pain. Soldiers moved throughout the pitch black cavern, trying to locate the source of the terrifying noise.

"I found him, sir!" called one of the privates.

Epps jogged over to the private, who had gone a sickly green. The Staff-Sergeant found what he was looking for leaning up against a shadowy stalagmite.

"Ricky," Epps muttered. "Hold on Ricky…"

Sergeant Ricky 'Recon' Hart coughed up blood as his life ebbed away through a gaping wound in his chest. His army attire was in tatters, his weapon nowhere in sight. He looked like he had been spun through a tumble-dryer filled with machetes; his face was almost unrecognisable through the dried blood.

"Just hang on a little longer," Epps said soothingly. "We'll get you back home…"

"H-Home…?" Recon coughed in dry amusement, blood leaking from a split lip. "This… this is my home… this was… this was my choice…"

"Don't speak," Epps continued urgently as soldiers appeared, staring down at the last of the Wreckers.

Recon slapped a helping hand away. He looked up at Epps and gave a weak smile.

"It's too late for me…" he murmured. "Something… something changed them… I saw it… they began to grow… violent… more than usual…"

He coughed again. His hands began to shiver.

"Roadbuster saw it too… he knew what had to be done… didn't work out so well, did it…?"

"Listen…"

"No!" Recon hissed. "You listen… I heard it… Harbinger… it calls itself Harbinger, that's the real threat! Forget the Decepti… forget the Decepticons… just… get Harbinger."

He looked down his chest and gurgled a chuckle.

"Public exhibit A…" he whispered. "What a joke… all a bloody joke. We thought we were hard… we thought we could do what we wanted… and now… and now… it turns out we're flesh, like everyone else… we're bone, like everyone else… we… we…"

Recon let out a sound like air escaping from a balloon. His eyes glazed over with death, yet he managed to turn enough to stare at Epps.

"Leave me…" His voice would have been inaudible outside of the echoing cave. "Leave me here… they were good… they just wanted to impress… Optimus… they just...

"Leave me here… don't move me… I won't have senti… sentimen… heh. Just… leave me…"

Recon's head drooped to stare at the ground. A last gasp of air escaped his lips.

There was not a sound under the red rock.

Finally, Epps stood up and headed for the exit.

"Let's go," he muttered. "There's nothing left for us here."

The soldiers began to fall out, leaving the three mangled corpses behind.

Mirage looked down at Recon for a few seconds in quiet contemplation.

And then he departed as well.

* * *

><p>"Life is cheap!" Thundercracker snarled as he kicked Optimus back. "But yours is free!"<p>

He kept up a barrage of axe blows, forcing Optimus onto the defensive. The Prime raised his keyblade repeatedly, yet the Decepticon kept on coming, the axe swinging like mad.

Optimus finally slipped up, falling back into the flames. Thundercracker came roaring through them, his axe coming down in a huge arc that would kill Optimus outright if it connected…

Which it didn't, as something smashed into Thundercracker in mid-air. The lumbering Decepticon was sprawled out in the ash, as Bumblebee stood up, aiming a plasma cannon directly down at the lieutenant's head.

"Don't move a muscle," Bumblebee said triumphantly.

Bumblebee was blown off Thundercracker by a grenade, sent straight in by Astrotrain, who took up a position in front of the defeated Decepticon.

"Need some help, lieutenant?" Astrotrain hissed.

Flatline came thundering out of the sky as well, taking up his position with the other Decepticons.

From behind Optimus, Sixshot walked through the inferno, unfazed and undaunted, spinning his revolvers with perceived and indulgent awesomeness.

The three Autobots faced off the three Decepticons as fire licked their feet.

"We didn't come here to fight," Thundercracker uttered. "We came here for a truce."

"Hah!" Bumblebee exclaimed. "Like the one Soundwave offered us? Now all you Decepticons are wrecking the planet while Harbinger closes every line of communication!"

"Whatever you and Soundwave had planned, no other Decepticon was a part of it," Astrotrain replied. "But here's the thing; do you think Harbinger's arrival and our attack are mere coincidences?"

There was silence.

"Harbinger's possessed our soldiers and leaders," Astrotrain informed the Autobots. "He's taken Megatron, Starscream, Shockwave and all the rest. We have no idea where Soundwave is, but we think harbinger must have taken him out."

This surprised the Autobots. But Optimus still kept a suspicious optic on all of them.

"You're proposing we work together to take Harbinger down?" he asked steadily.

"By the looks of things," Flatline chuckled as he inspected the burning debris around them. "You need all the help you can get."

"So…" Thundercracker concluded. "Do we have a deal?"

A missile smashed into the Decepticon's jaw, sending Thundercracker spinning into the fires. Several huge slugs impacted against Optimus and Bumblebee, throwing them to the dirt as well.

As the cybertronians came under heavy attack, Sixshot managed to catch a glimpse at who was attacking them.

Tanks and APCs trawled through the fires, as infantry with advanced weaponry cut through debris with a mix of cybertronian lasers and incredibly sharp saws.

"The Answerers!" Sixshot called, before he was blown back to the ground as well.

* * *

><p>Kaminari, having being one of the chief scientists involved in the Landmine project, had always wondered how well they would perform in combat. In New York City, they had proven to be capable, if not especially excellent, Decepticon-fighting automatons. But they had never faced off against a Decepticon in hand-to-hand combat. Despite this lack of experience, Kaminari had every belief that eight Landmine units could take on one solitary Decepticon, even Megatron himself.<p>

So when Crashdive tore open the last Landmine unit's throat, plunged his hand into its head, and removed its central processor in one swift second, Kaminari knew two things; one, she was dead wrong and two, she was probably dead anyway.

The lumbering Decepticon kicked the corpses of the Landmine soldiers, almost disappointed in their resistance. He finally turned back to the hangar, which had quickly vacated in the wake of Crashdive's onslaught with the exception of Kaminari, Irving and the quite scared Fearswoop.

"Now listen," Fearswoop muttered, trying to placate the angry titan. "Don't do anything rash… or violent… or particularly displeasing to anyone else…"

Crashdive made a gesture with his mouth and fingers, causing Fearswoop to shut up immediately.

"Optimus Prime will kill you when he returns," Kaminari vowed. "He won't let you kill us and walk away."

Crashdive just looked down at her and grunted, almost chuckling. He raised his scimitar for a blow that wouldn't just cut Kaminari in half, but simply destroy her entire body.

But then a shockwave rippled throughout the entire complex. Kaminari, Irving and Crashdive were thrown to the ground, as dust cascaded through Kublak Han. The buildings shook, trees twisted, clouds dissipated and the world seemed to quake.

Kaminari opened her eyes, trying to peer through the heavy dust. And then she saw it, in the distance…

"The Topaz Mountain," she whispered in wonder.

It was gone.

Where once the titanic mountain had stood, it stood no longer. It seemed to have just vanished… but thanks to the dust, Kaminari realised what had truly happened; it had collapsed. Fallen in pieces to the ground, crushing the jungle and desert on either side of it.

Crashdive grunted as he stood. Forgetting the others, he began to pace towards the ruins of the once mighty mountain, to see if there was more of a challenge there.

Kaminari knew at once there were only two things on Earth that could have the power to collapse such a majesty of nature; a cybertronian… or Harbinger itself, whatever it was.

She saw Crashdive walk through the dust, unfazed by the clouds that battered his optics.

Kaminari knew she had to beat him there.

If Harbinger had really taken down that mountain, she was going to be the one who caught the bastard.

"_Major!"_ Gunman Hernandez called. "_We have eyes on a three-way battle!"_

* * *

><p>Major Illich checked the camera screen on his right, presenting her with a view directly below that of the AC-130. Indeed, two teams of cybertronians were battling one another as tanks and APCs ruined their day.<p>

"Any idea what the unknowns are?" Illich asked.

"Negative on that, sir," her co-pilot, Captain Stevens answered. "But they are opening fire on both Autobots and Decepticons…"

"_Wait_!" Hernandez cried from the back of the huge plane. "_I've confirmed the insignia and weapon-types as those used by the Answerers!_"

"The Answerers?" Stevens muttered. "They're free game, as far as General Mason is concerned."

"I couldn't care less about what concerns General Mason," Illich uttered. "They're shooting at our boys. Hernandez, Gregori; light them up!"

"_Roger that!_" Hernandez answered, feeling the thrill of battle. "_This is Boogeyman; let's invite these traitors to __a __shrapnel shower!_"

Boogeyman opened fire.

* * *

><p>Shot after shot crashed into the Answerer vehicles. Tanks exploded, APCs were flipped into the air, infantry were torn apart. This relieved the pressure on the Autobots and the Decepticons, who went immediately back to tearing each other apart.<p>

"We need a truce!" Thundercracker roared as Optimus attacked with his keyblade.

"LIES!" Optimus thundered back, continually oppressing.

The six of them fought through the blazing debris, as huge shells smashed and exploded all around them.

None of them noticed a piece of debris shift and fall. A figure crawled out of the soot and ash.

"Well," Ryder muttered as he dusted himself off. "I should have seen that coming."

He noticed the great robot stomping match, as flames curled into the air. Tanks and APCs rolled past him, not noticing the scruffy teenager with the huge rifle.

"And they got started without me?" he murmured, as an Answerer soldier trundled past. He socked the soldier and picked up his weapon.

"Some sort of laser slash grenade launcher," Ryder noted. "Now, why don't we have these?"

Experimenting, Ryder aimed the weapon at a nearby tank that hadn't been wrecked yet. He fingered the trigger.

A second later, with a great deal of illuminating explosions, the tank ceased to be.

"I'm keeping this," Ryder decided. "Now I better wait for the next Pillar portal before I start talking to myself all the goddamn time…"

He sat back on the hot ground, having lost time but gained a new weapon.

"Counting out time," he muttered. "Why did I have to get saddled with the most boring life imaginable…?"

He lay back in the shade as an APC was sent hurtling over him.

* * *

><p>"How did I…?" Marcus muttered.<p>

"_As I said before, omnipotence is a curse…"_

Marcus stood in the desert, surrounded by miles of sand.

He saw the Topaz Mountain, pitch black and imposing, staring down at him in the distance.

"Why am I out here…" Marcus whispered. "Again?"

"_Wait, and you soon shall see…"_

Marcus waited.

And then he saw it.

The mountain began to crumble.

Slowly at first, Marcus thought it was a trick of the light. Pieces flaked off, as if shedding skin of ages past. Then larger parts of the mountain began to crack and fall, each one rumbling and falling, splitting off from the darkling spire.

And then it fell. It all fell, in many pieces, like a deck of cards, all smashing into the ground in several huge rumbles. Dust was thrown far into the sky, before expanding outwards in a huge cloud. It rolled through the desert, heading straight towards Marcus.

"W-What… what was that?" Marcus asked in shock.

"_Harbinger's agent collapsed the mountain."_

"For what reason?"

"_A distraction."_

"A distraction from what?"

"_The End."_

* * *

><p>"So why aren't you investigating the huge collapsing mountain?" Fearswoop asked from his cage.<p>

"Because resetting the system to clear the airwaves of Harbinger is much more important," Irving replied tersely, covering his mouth from the dust that had invaded the hangar. Although he had shut the huge doors, the dust cloud had not fully settled. He coughed for the umpteenth time as a door in the side of the hangar opened.

Gerin came striding in, her face urgent.

"Did you see that?" she asked hurriedly. "Do any of you have any idea where Marcus is?"

"I do!" Fearswoop announced with a grim smile. "My sensors detected him teleporting in!"

"What a load of bull," Irving snorted. "Even if your sensors were working, which I'm pretty sure they're not, you wouldn't be able to detect anything outside of that cage."

"You'd be surprised what I learn through this base…" Fearswoop chuckled darkly.

Irving snorted again, although without the comeback.

But Gerin had turned her attention to Fearswoop, her eyes glaring.

"Where. Is. He?" she asked, her voice darkening.

"Now, why would I tell you that?" Fearswoop chuckled again.

"Don't listen to him," Irving interrupted. "He's just a load of hot air…"

The psychologist turned her back on Fearswoop, her face an angry shadow.

"Any closer to tracking down this Harbinger?" Gerin asked miserably, walking up beside Irivng and staring at his computer.

Irving sighed. "It's impossible. The only route that Harbinger could have originated from was that industrial plant… and its apparently exploded…"

"So it was a trap?" Gerin asked, peering closer at his computer screen.

"Yeah, a trap," Irving murmured.

And then a thought entered his head. A thought that he felt was almost too horrible to even think about.

"Or… he knew we were coming…"

And then two bullets pierced Irving's chest, exploding outwards and covering his computer with blood.

Without another word, he slumped forward onto his desk.

Dead.

Gerin held the silenced pistol in one hand and cleaned it with a cloth in the other. She looked up at Fearswoop, who stared at her, mouth agape.

"B-But…" Fearswoop gasped, stunned.

Gerin then turned to look at the computer. With her finger, she scrawled several letters on the screen with the blood.

"I'm afraid I'll be leaving soon, so I'm going to give you a choice," Gerin announced as she wrote. "If you tell me where Marcus is, I'll leave you for the Autobots or the Decepticons, whoever returns first. If you don't, I'll kill you right now."

Fearswoop's mouth couldn't decide between opening or closing.

"B-But…" he eventually struggled to spit out. "You're not the traitor! You're not the one who's been feeding the Decepticons everything!"

Gerin smiled up at him. "Of course not. Now answer me, or be dead. Your choice."

Fearswoop gulped.

"He's in the desert. Beyond the mountain. Or, beyond what was once the mountain…"

Gerin flashed her beautiful teeth. "Thank you very much."

She reached inside her coat and pulled out a little switch. She flicked it.

Electricity and voltage unrecorded flowed through Fearswoop's veins and arteries. He screamed, but his mouth produced no sound. His prison became his guillotine, torturing him through all the nine circles of Hell.

Eventually, the flow of electricity stopped and he fell to his knees, smoking. The force-field collapsed and his corpse fell pitifully to the hangar ground.

Gerin contemplated killing Sideswipe off, but knew that he wasn't a threat to her plan. Everyone else had to go.

_A distraction._

_Life is nothing more than a great distraction._

She walked towards the hangar exit, her skin morphing and changing, until Gerin was no longer walking away.

Randall Irving was.

And on the computer screen:

G E R I N R A H B

H A R B I N G E R

* * *

><p>And as Sixshot smashed a fist into Flatline, dropping the medic, the Decepticon had a revelation.<p>

"Any last words," Sixshot asked as he aimed a revolver at the Decepticon's face.

Flatline looked up, shocked that no-one else had seen it.

And then he chuckled.

And then he fully laughed.

"Not a sun!" he cried. "Not a sun!"

Sixshot frowned. He cocked the revolver.

"You were wrong Thundercracker!" Flatline shouted. "Harbinger does not want a sun! Not a sun!"

"A _son_!"

"_A __**son!**_"

* * *

><p><em>See my reflection change<br>Nothin' ever stays the same  
>But you the name's the game<br>We all know what it means  
>Nothing's ever what it seems<br>Unforgiven  
>Unforeseen<em>


	33. Chaos Finale

Season 2 is done!

I will return in two weeks time to start the third and final season! EXTREME thanks to all who have stuck with me thus far! :)

Here's to today's scrambled creatures! ;7

*completes Act 2 of the Insanity Tap Dance*

* * *

><p>"Why didn't you tell me?" Marcus whispered.<p>

"_You never needed to know."_

"She… w-why?"

"_It was all for you…"_

Marcus knelt in the sand. A sidewinder slid by, uncaring for the poor boy, intent on finding shade. The sun slammed down on Marcus, sweat mingling with tears as they descended towards the ground. The Sahara shifted with the changing winds; the collapsed mountain had caused a sequence of changing breezes… the sand whipped and twirled in the air, almost attacking Marcus.

"But I never wanted any of this!" Marcus roared. "Why would she do this…?"

"_It was all a distraction. Every little detail, every little spy, every little assassination… it was to distract everyone from the real prize; you."_

Marcus was silent, except for a couple of escaping sobs. _Malevolus looked at him with something that was almost pity._

"_You want to hate her, don't you?" he asked. "You want to never forgive her for what she's done… but you know you won't. She's cared for you, sheltered you… loved you, as she would her own child. And you've loved her in turn."_

And then, beside Marcus in the middle of the desert, Malevolus appeared, his dark, wire-like skin reflecting not one ray of light. His huge white opals stared out in the same direction.

"_Either way, she is coming," Malevolus murmured. "And you must say 'yes'."_

"But why?"

"_To survive. It has always been to survive. That is the game we play, heroes and villains, mortals and gods, humans and aliens… when all other goal is lost, survival is the key."_

* * *

><p><span>Episode 30.3: Chaos Finale… Good Mourning<span>

_Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face,  
>Stars to fill my dream<br>I am a traveller of both time and space  
>To be where I have been;<em>

_To sit with elders of the gentle race  
>This world has seldom seen<br>They talk of days for which they sit and wait  
>And all will be revealed…<em>

—**Kashmir**

* * *

><p>The scorpion slid over the sand.<p>

One leg after the other, seeming to glide in the early evening sun; a little black shape, searching for food. The tiny insect's stinger swayed lazily, as if attached by glue, the cool air sifting grains of rock into his face. Unperturbed, it laboured on, eventually coming across terrain that was neither sand nor rock. It was bouncy and soft, almost spongy as its eight legs crawled and stroked.

Epps opened his eyes and shut them almost immediately. He had served his tours in this type of climate and knew that simply moving would be the end of him. He waited for the scorpion to pass, hoping it wouldn't stay too long. He slowed his breathing down and relaxed his muscles.

"You seem to have an arachnid on your face," Mirage noted.

Epps didn't reply, or move. Mirage realised why.

"Is this species poisonous?" he asked.

Epps didn't reply, or move.

"Shall I attempt to remove it?"

Epps made a sort of grunt, while trying not to move. Mirage mistakenly thought it was a dismissal, leaving Epps to his fate.

_I swear, if I'm killed by a goddamn bug, after all I've been through, God's gonna hang._

So he waited, as did the soldiers a few metres away, oblivious to his predicament.

He waited.

And waited.

_Oh God, he's not going to move is he?_

The sun began to bake his skin…

* * *

><p>The dust whipped her skin. Yet Kaminari Ishihara stood tall, her personal EMP discharger in hand. Although it wouldn't hurt any cybertronian enemy, it could stun it and slow it down. But Ishihara didn't even know what she was facing.<p>

_If it is Harbinger, then this will probably be absolutely useless. But if it's not…_

She had made her way out of Kublak Han, through the dust and sand, heading towards the devastated mountain. With her went Crashdive. But thanks to the heavy dust and swirling wind, she could only hear his heavy footfalls and the electricity crackling off his huge blade. For all she knew, he could be just a few feet away…

_This is suicide…_

_This is insanity…_

_This is the life._

She raised her strange-looking gun to her eye, staring down the rectangular-shaped barrel towards her destination. She passed by pieces of black rock, toppled trees, huge boulders, corpses…

She stared at the bodies. They hadn't died during the collapse…

_They've been torn apart… it couldn't have been the Decepticon, I would have heard something…_

And that's when Crashdive roared.

Kaminari stared into the dust, clutching her weapon all the more tightly. She could hear Crashdive shouting unintelligible babble, and the furious din of fighting.

Eventually, there was a resounding crash and then silence. The dust began to clear.

"Kaminari Ishihara?"

She whipped around, her discharger shaking in her grip. She stared at the figure before her.

Dressed all in black so that not an inch of skin was showing, the man stood triumphant. Kaminari's eyes widened.

"I am sorry, but Harbinger has designated you disposable."

Behind him lay Crashdive, unmoving.

_I-Impossible…_

The man raised a pistol…

* * *

><p>The last tank was thrown into ruin. Grimm cursed.<p>

"Ingrid!" she yelled into her communicator. "Our forces just got cut to ribbons! They had overwatch!"

"_How many did you kill?_"

"None! But at this rate, they'll tear each other—"

"_Not good. Commander Grimm, you are relieved of duty._"

"R-What?" Grimm cried. "What are you talking about? We need soldiers!"

"_Get out. You have failed in the task I set you. It is that simple._"

"Fine then," Grimm hissed. "Relieve me of duty; but if we retreat now, our soldiers will be torn apart—"

"_We have exhausted the allotted time on this conversation. Harbinger will block us off in five seconds…_"

"Listen to me, you crazy bitch—" Grimm attempted, but was cut off.

"**We have arrived.**

"**We. Are. Harbinger.**"

* * *

><p>"ENOUGH!" Thundercracker roared, breaking off the combat.<p>

There was a rather stunned silence at his proclamation. The other cybertronians looked up, weary and battered, as the Answerers peeled away.

"We have wasted enough time on this," Thundercracker hissed. "We need to find Harbinger now and put an end to this charade."

Optimus spat out one of his few remaining teeth. "We have no leads. Do you?"

Thundercracker turned to look carefully at where Flatline was facing off against the business end of a revolver barrel. Sixshot grumpily removed his foot from his throat. The Decepticon slinked away like a spider and crawled up near Thundercracker like a rat.

"Well," Flatline murmured. "What if Harbinger is closer to home than one thinks…?"

"Explain," Optimus muttered, on the verge of stasis lock.

"Harbinger wants a… sun, apparently. But, as I believe that Harbinger is not cybertronian, I took into account its biological needs. It is my belief that Harbinger wishes for a… descendant."

There was thoughtful silence at this theory. But Optimus shook his head.

"That sounds… unbelievable. To go through all this for a son? That doesn't make sense…"

"To gain the true value of something," Flatline uttered cryptically, stroking his empty optic-socket. "You must first lose it."

Optimus frowned. "We have no way of contacting Kublak Han. We cannot get back—"

"Allow me," announced a voice.

They all turned to see Ryder striding through the debris of the battle, seeming to glide past flames and swatting fires out with a twirl of his duster coat.

"This prick with you?" Thundercracker muttered.

"'Prick'?" Ryder echoed, waving a strange-looking cell phone. "Unless you intend to fly back to Kublak Han, you might want to be a bit more polite."

"I don't take orders from an insect."

"And I don't take insults from an overgrown, death-metal Smurf. Now are you going to listen to what I have to say?"

"Let the kid speak, Thundercracker," Sixshot intoned. "He knows a lot more than you would think…"

Ryder nodded, in something that might have been thankful respect. "I have here a cell that is completely free of Harboner FM. With it, I can ring up anyone you like."

"How's it not affected?" Bumblebee asked. "Even we can't contact Kublak Han with our communicators!"

Ryder shrugged. Bumblebee narrowed his optics in anger. Sixshot hid a smile.

But Optimus was too tired for any shenanigans. "Do you have Irving's number?"

"I have every number. All of them."

"Then get us back."

Ryder punched in the number and the cybertronians waited eagerly.

Ryder heard it ring.

And ring.

And ring.

"There's a problem," he admitted. "It sounds like—"

Someone picked up the receiver.

"Right, Irving we need a quick portal out of here; we might be able to figure out who Harbinger—"

"_I step away for just a half hour… and what happens? Shit. Shit happens. Shit is what is happening, right this second._"

Ryder frowned, not gleaning the voice from the reception that a trans-Atlantic call would obviously provide.

"Who's this?" he muttered warily.

"_WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK IT IS, YOU COCKY LITTLE SHIT? I SWEAR, AS SOON AS YOU'RE BACK, I'M GOING TO JAIL YOU IN MOTHERFUCKING ALABAMA! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DO IN ALABAMA, RYDER? FIFTY FUCKING THOUSAND VOLTS, THAT'S WHAT!"_

Ryder held the cell away from his ear. "I think you should speak to him," he told Optimus. "He might be slightly less pissed."

But Optimus had neither the heart nor the strength to face General Mason. He sat down in the muck, his head drooping in fatigue.

"Alright then," Ryder sighed, turning to Thundercracker. "Tobias Fünke, you're up."

Ryder threw the cell phone at Thundercracker, who caught it by letting it land in his palm.

"Why should I speak to your pathetic leader?" Thundercracker asked, his optics showing his distaste for the entire affair.

"Because the only one more qualified than Optimus to speak to that asshole is Sixshot, and General Bacon wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and I. So you're up, Decepticon."

Thundercracker gave a look of utter loathing before leaning in to the communicator. He heard an especially annoying sound;

"…_WHILE DANCING ON YOUR LIVER! RYDER? RYDER, ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!_"

"Listen, human scum," Thundercracker uttered. "Do not presume to command me as you have Optimus; send us to your base, now."

There was a slight pause.

"_AND WHO ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH ARE YOU?_"

"Lieutenant Thundercracker," the Decepticon hissed. "Of the Decepticon army; we are working with Optimus Prime and his Autobots to end Harbinger."

There was another slight pause.

"_Alright then, seeing as you're the first alien with a piece of goddamn sense, Thundersmacker, I'm going to have to ask you__ to relay these messages for me to those idiotic Autobots._"

"My name is Thundercracker," Thundercracker growled. "And I am not your messenger bot."

"_I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND! IF YOU WANT TO GET BACK HERE AND HELP US TAKE DOWN THIS HARBINGER BASTARD, GET IN GODDAMN LINE!_"

Thundercracker looked ready to kill, his optics blazing.

"What's happened?" Thundercracker muttered, trying to contain his ire.

"_Did, by chance, you come through Kublak Han to get wherever the hell you are now?_"

"Yes."

"_Did, by chance, you kill anyone?_"

"…No."

"_Did, by chance, you leave behind another Decepticon, who might not have been in possession of his mental faculties?"_

"…Yes."

"_HOW THE HELL DID YOU EVER __GET PROMOTED__, DIPSHIT?"_

Thundercracker glared at Ryder. "Must I talk to this disgusting creature?"

"Of course not. You up for a long walk?"

Thundercracker picked up the wreck of a tank and crushed it in his hand, simply to relieve stress. He then turned back to the communicator.

"What has he done?" Thundercracker muttered.

"_ONLY TAKEN OUT OUR GODDAMN AUTOMATON ARMY! AND, FOR ALL I KNOW, COLLAPSED A FUCKING MOUNTAIN!"_

"Is that all?"

Mason calmed down enough to speak at an even pitch. "_Well… does your man know how to wield an insect-sized pistol?_"

"No."

"_Then we've __got a much bigger problem than first anticipated. Also, did your man have any problems with the prisoner?_"

"Fearswoop? None that I know of."

"_Oh… well, then. Shit._ _Just relay all that to the Autobots; I'll see if I can work out these goddamn contraptions._"

* * *

><p>Harbinger walked through the dark jungle, stretching her skills by stretching her skin.<p>

From Irving to Mason, she ran through the skins she had accumulated by sight over the months. From soldier to scientist, woman to man, her watery skin swirled and changed.

She approached the end of the jungle, the dust relatively thin; the trees had blocked most of it off.

Sunlight danced across the desert spread out before her. She knew that in this light, her true form wouldn't last long. So she put on one final skin before stepping out onto the Sahara.

Gerin Rahb headed towards her fate, a light, hopeful smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Finally, the scorpion grew bored with the new terrain discovery, and slid off Epps's face onto the hot sand again. The Staff-Sergeant breathed a sigh of relief.<p>

"I don't think we're going to be leaving anytime soon," Mirage realised. "We should have thought of a way to contact Irving before we left."

Epps stood up and looked at all the men who sat around in the sorry dust, oblivious to the drama that had unfurled just a few feet away from them. Epps was tempted to shout at them all, tell them they were all blind jackasses. But it wouldn't help anyone anymore… so he looked down at the scorpion and wondered whether or not to send it on its way with a .45 round.

The scorpion crawled away, gaining immense speed against Epps's immobility. Finally, the Staff-Sergeant sighed and sat back onto the ground. With a finger, he made meaningless little symbols in the sand.

_What are we doing out here? Three Autobots and around fifty men; we can do something. And yet… we're stuck in a goddamn desert._

_For all I know, Kublak Han's burning…_

* * *

><p>"Oh, come on!" Mason fumed, banging the keyboard in frustration. He looked to where Irving sat at another computer, never to move again.<p>

"How did you ever work this thing?" he asked morosely. "In fact, where are the other fifty thousand scientists who should be here? One sign of a Decepticon and they run for the goddamn hills…"

He experimentally mashed some keys in horrible ineptitude before turning to Fearswoop's still smoking corpse.

"You got any funny quips?" Mason asked bitterly. "No jokes? No imbecilic remarks?"

Fearswoop didn't answer.

"Then again, you were right about one thing," Mason muttered, turning back to the computer and staring helplessly. "There was a traitor. And whoever he is, I'm stringing him up by his intestines from the goddamn Liberty statue."

He hit a couple more keys experimentally. Then he paused.

"Oh yeah," he murmured. "It's no longer standing…"

He scratched the large bandage wrapped around his head.

_If I've suffered any brain damage, Ryder's gonna have a fire-poker stuck so far up his arse, he'll suffer brain damage of his own._

Realising there was nothing he could do, Mason dramatically sighed and pushed himself up from the computer.

"Goddamn aliens," he muttered. "Like in some stupid movie; destroying all our landmarks and all our people. They care not a jolt; neither side."

He passed by Irving's computer, the one the chief technician had been using to trace Harbinger; he stared at the screen.

And then he saw it.

G E R I N R A H B

H A R B I N G E R

"Oh."

Mason slapped Irving on the back of the head, causing his corpse to fall out of the chair. "You beautiful bastard, Randall! On the edge of death and you still pull through! Hell, in death you're still more useful than every other goddamn soldier in my army!"

But then he stopped to think.

_But if Harbinger's loose on the base, killing Decepticon-sized targets, then none of us stand a chance…_

And then an especially cunning thought crossed his mind. He checked it, trying to figure out if there were any bad endings to the plan that was slowly forming in his slimy little brain.

He rubbed his hands gleefully, rushing back to the Pillar control computer. He redialled the phone on it.

"_Do no__t__ waste our time, human—"_

"Shut up and listen!" Mason interrupted. "How fast can you fly, Thundercrapper?"

"…_Fast._"

"How long would it take for you to get here?"

"_To your base? I'm no Shockwave, but approximately fifty-eight minutes_."

Mason licked his lips, his head filled with fast calculations and dull pain.

"_But I cannot bring the Autobots…_"

"Who cares? Get you and your flying buddies down here and_ bomb the shit out of this place_!"

"…_What._"

"You heard me!" Mason roared with euphoria. "I want you to leave nothing here, or in the surrounding area; when a satellite pulls over, it should only be able to see craters and ash! Even you should agree with something that simple-minded and destructive!"

"…_Fine then. But I'm taking your 'order' to the spark; if you're still in there when we arrive…_"

"Then you get to off the leader of HARP," Mason said eagerly. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

But there was no answer; just the distant roar of jet engines.

Mason leapt from the seat and jogged towards the command building, dust swirling around his head as he legged it across the airfield. There wasn't time to waste.

He slammed open the doors, much to the shock of the base personnel seeking shelter from the dust cloud. They stared at him in wonder.

"We're evacuating!" Mason roared. "Take the tarpaulins off the planes and get airborne; I want to reach Casablanca by nightfall!"

* * *

><p>"Where the hell do they think they're going?" Bumblebee asked angrily, looking up as the Decepticons gleefully followed their new orders.<p>

"I don't like it," Sixshot muttered. "If Mason's using the Decepticons to carry out his plans…"

"Sixshot!" Ryder called. The Autobot looked down.

"Judging by their speed, they should reach Kublak Han in less than an hour," Ryder calculated. "You up for a challenge?"

Sixshot frowned. And then the flicker of a smile appeared.

"There's no challenge in that."

"Prove it."

Sixshot transformed. "Then hop on."

"You can't reach there in time!" Bumblebee cried. "It's impossible! There's a whole ocean in the way! Tell them Optimus!"

Optimus simply sagged and stared at the ground.

"Let's roll," Ryder muttered. The Harley Davidson kicked into life and sped into the flames.

Up above, Boogeyman watched the scene with fascination. Bumblebee stared hard at Optimus.

"Optimus?" he asked drearily, looking around at the devastation.

"Optimus!"

"OPTIMUS!"

* * *

><p>"I… I don't want to do this…"<p>

"_Then don't go. Stay out here and drown in this sea…"_

"This is no sea. Stuff grows in the sea."

"_So you do not wish to grow?"_

Marcus clenched his fists. He looked to where the Topaz Mountain had once stood.

"I still don't get it," he muttered miserably. "What was the point of that dream?"

"_Which dream?"_

"The one where everyone died."

"_It was to make sure you understood the two most important things in life."_

"And what are they?"

His eyes widened as he saw a figure walk through the desert towards him. Although he couldn't make out who it was, he knew already.

"_Your own life…"_

The figure stood atop a rise, staring to where he was. Marcus knew he had to go there.

He took a step forward.

And then another.

He paced across the dunes.

Malevolus was with him every step of the way, a smile on his teeth.

"…_And love."_

* * *

><p>"Sir, Warhammer is away! That counts all the combat aircraft, excluding Boogeyman, who's on the other side of the world."<p>

"Good job, Sergeant," Mason said. "Get on the last aircraft with the administration guys."

The sergeant looked surprised. "You're not coming with us?"

Mason smiled and looked to the hangar where two corpses lay.

"And leave a man behind? Alien or not, he's getting out as well."

"But sir!" the sergeant argued desperately. "Sideswipe's been inactive for weeks! They still say he could slip away at any time!"

"That cocky fucker won't allow himself to die on a bed," Mason muttered, heading out. "And neither will I."

* * *

><p>Epps stared into the distance. But Mirage saw them long before he did.<p>

"Tanks," one of the soldiers hissed. "I guess we should have loaded up on ammo anyway…"

"No," Epps said, firmly. "We're surrendering."

Mirage and the others turned to look at him in shock.

"Surrender?" Mirage reiterated. "These guys work for a dictator, in case you forgot. Do you think they would spare us?"

"Yes."

This also brought about a number of stunned faces. But Arcee was the first to realise the wisdom of this statement and nodded.

"Yeah, I get it," she muttered. "But is this the only way out?"

Epps turned back to look at the approaching armour. He frowned.

"We need to get back to Kublak Han. Something bad's going on down there… I can feel it."

* * *

><p>"Optimus!" Bumblebee cried. "You're dying!"<p>

Optimus grunted through both weariness and pain. "Don't be so dramatic. I just… need to spend… a few hours in stasis lock…"

At this time, several armoured vehicles from the National Guard arrived, unloading their soldiers. Jets flew overhead as Boogeyman vacated the area, low on fuel.

"Listen… Bumblebee…" Optimus muttered, on the edge of consciousness. "You need to… get back… get back to Kublak Han. I… fear… this was nothing more… than a… than a…"

"Don't try to speak," Bumblebee murmured. "Listen; we'll get you out, get you treatment…"

"NO!" Optimus cried, grabbing Bumblebee. "A distraction! That's… that's all it was…" He fell back. "You need to get back… help them… help them…"

He slipped out of consciousness.

Bumblebee stood up, as soldiers all around him stared in shock.

He heard a military jet flying close.

He raised his hand, pointing at the sky, just as the plane flew over.

With a flash of light, his form changed shape and colour, as if metamorphosing, and a silver-armoured warrior stood where one of yellow and black had been before.

_The Decepticons. Will. Die._

He transformed and sped off into the night, leaving behind the bewildered guardsmen, the unaware form of his leader and the ash of battles past.

He headed off, seeking vengeance for not just his leader's defeat, but for the very fact that around the world, the Decepticons were alive and killing.

All thanks to one 'con in particular.

* * *

><p><em>Darkness…<em>

_Death…_

_Insanity…_

_But…_

_Not yet._

With a crippling pain, Sideswipe was brought back online. He gasped, almost sitting up in shock.

"Aha! I knew pulling one of these cables would eventually do something!"

_Wait…_

General Mason appeared in his vision, looking like he'd gone for a ten-mile sprint.

_By Primus, I'm dead. And for some reason, I have been sent to the human Hell…_

"Get up!" Mason ordered. "This base is about to be flattened in fifteen minutes!"

"I can't," Sideswipe groaned.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because my back is broken. Wait… BLUDGEON!"

Sideswipe attempted to get up, but fell off his huge slab-for-a-bed. Mason barely rolled out the way in time.

"Ow," Sideswipe muttered, lying face down. "I assume you got him…?"

"More than got him," Mason replied, picking himself up. "Lady Liberty threw him straight down to your goddamn Pit."

Sideswipe looked up. "Listen…about what I did…"

But Mason was now flustered, ornery fuelling his wonder at the Autobot's lack of confidence. Sideswipe shut off his optics and lowered the power of his audio receptors.

"NOBODY GIVES A SHIT!" came the resultant fury. "WHETHER OR NOT YOU ACTED OF YOUR OWN ACCORD, THERE IS A DECEPTICON BOMBING RAID COMING! ALL THE PLANES ARE GONE, ALL THE OTHER AUTOBOTS ARE ALL OVER THE WORLD AND I INTEND TO LIVE THROUGH THIS SHIT! _NOW LET'S GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE! _AND THAT'S AN **ORDER!**"

Sideswipe finally turned his optics back on and opened up his ears. He sighed.

"I don't think I can stand," he muttered. "And I don't even want to know what my face looks like. But… I think…"

With what sounded like a chainsaw choking, Sideswipe painfully and meticulously transformed. The resulting form was more broken caravan than sports car.

"It's better than nothing," Mason sighed, before hopping in.

"Yeah," Sideswipe said. "You might find it a little cramped…"

"WHAT IS THIS SHIT!" Mason bellowed, finding himself in an incredibly tight squeeze. "IS THIS THE BEST ROOM YOU CAN GIVE?"

"Is that the widest girth you can stuff in my glove box?" Sideswipe shot back.

Mason found himself falling into a wrathful silence. Eventually, he whispered angrily;

"Whatever. Are we getting out of here or not?"

Sideswipe shot out of the hangar, racing down the runway.

"Whoa. What happened to the mountain?"

"Long story. If we make it out of here alive, I can tell you all about it…"

_This is probably the worst day of my life, _Sideswipe realised,_ I wake up to find I'm wracked with pain, everyone's abandoned me and to top it off, I get saved by General 'Shitmouth' Mason._

_I'll never live this down._

* * *

><p>Kaminari leapt back, breathing hard.<p>

The man stood tall again, as if unperturbed by the fight they had gone through. During it, Kaminari had knocked the man's pistol out into the darkness, but she couldn't use her own weapon; it would have been useless against anyone of flesh and blood.

_But he's fast. Incredibly fast… _

_Too fast._

The man whipped another hook towards her with the force of an avalanche, which she barely dodged. Although she was a master in no less than half a dozen martial arts, this opponent took her hits like a punch-bag and dealt out ones that were even harder.

_It's like he's not even human…_

A light went on within her head.

She swung her EMP discharger round and pulled the trigger. The man easily dodged the central, yet invisible, blast but was just clipped by the outer edges. The man froze for barely a second, yet it was enough to reveal its weakness. And both of them knew it.

The man threw off his coat and hat, no longer hiding.

Kaminari nearly screamed.

A six-armed creature stood before her, wide and imposing. Human skin melded with cybertronian armour, while both blood and energon ran through its veins. It held a face of two halves; one skin and hair, eyeless. The other, metal with three wide, blue optics. It was a creature that shouldn't have ever existed. Yet it stood before Kaminari Ishihara, looming and intimidating.

And, through its chest, Kaminari could see a beating heart, coated in armour.

_If I can hit it square in the chest…_

The beast lunged, four claws on each hand. They swiped through the air, cutting the dust in half, forcing Kaminari back without being able to get a shot off. She rolled over the corpses of Answerers, leaping by boulders, but the beast kept on coming, making not a sound, tearing through every obstacle in its path.

Kaminari raised the discharger, but in that one second of action, the beast took its chance.

She screamed in pain as her left arm was sheared off, flying into the dust. She fell back, blood leaking from the stump in her arm, firing as she fell.

The blast caught the beast square in the chest. It stopped and for a second, Kaminari could see the heart stop beating. But then it resumed its pace, beating faster, yet the beast moved forwards slower and more shakily.

_I merely stunned it. This is near as powerful as any cybertronian._

The creature launched back into its usual pace, tearing through the air, forcing Kaminari back onto the retreat.

_I'm… I'm going to bleed out before I can kill this thing…_

It kept on coming, three unblinking optics staring with manic intensity.

_There's only one way to kill it._

A claw slashed her side and she cried out in pain. She fell back, her white lab coat almost fully red.

_Hit it in the chest… then reach in and take out its heart…_

The beast charged. Kaminari tripped over a corpse and blindly fired, screaming as she did it.

A few feet away, the beast stopped, stunned. It stared at her, but unseeing.

_This. Is. It…_

A shadow fell over the beast. Kaminari looked up.

Its heart started beating again.

It looked up as well.

"I'm sorry," it announced in a perfectly courteous voice. "But Harbinger has designated you—"

Crashdive brought his foot down, squashing the creature like a bug. It then ground its foot, making sure the thing stayed dead.

_Well… that's another way to do it…_

Crashdive raised his foot and wiped it on the dust, grunting in disgust. The mess he had made wasn't pretty.

Kaminari looked up at him as she held her stump with her other arm. Crashdive looked back, noticing her for the first time.

Slowly, Crashdive gave a slight nod as a sign of respect.

Kaminari gulped once and then fainted from blood loss.

The Decepticon grunted in amusement. He reached down, picked up the scientist, and transformed.

He shot into the sky, captive within.

* * *

><p><strong>Interview Session #5: The River Runs Deep.<strong>

They stood, facing each other in the heat of the day.

"Hello Marcus," Gerin said, unsmiling.

Marcus simply stared, his mouth agape. He had been wondering about what he would say; whether he would accuse, whether he would cry, whether he would shout…

But now, staring at this young woman who held the world in her pocket, Marcus could think of nothing to say.

Gerin stared back, waiting for him to react. She had played the game to the best of her abilities, twisted, turned and trashed her way through all opposition; she had played brilliantly, but only the young boy in front of her could decide if she had won or not.

There had always only been one objective.

Finally, trying to avoid the hard questions, Marcus simply asked;

"Where are you from?"

Gerin was slightly taken aback. But, realising that Marcus's first reaction wasn't one of violence or hate, she smiled at last.

"I…" she began. She looked up to the sky.

"You know, it doesn't matter anymore," she continued whimsically. "I may as well be from here. All that matters is that I'm the last… the last of… HA!"

Marcus looked at her in surprise. Gerin grinned.

"HAHA! It was so long ago, and so far away, I can't even remember their faces. But they were mine. My own little boy and my own _socivitae_… now, they are both gone. Nothing left in this universe except what I could take or steal…"

"And you want to steal me," Marcus whispered.

Gerin gave a sad little smile. "Steal is taking without consent. I won't steal you away, Marcus. The choice is up to you."

Marcus stamped his foot into the ground, rage flowing from his mouth. "WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR? WHY DID YOU DO IT ALL FOR ME? WHY?"

Gerin's smile dropped. "Marcus, what do you have left?"

Marcus looked at her, confusion spread across his face. "I… I have…"

"Your family is gone," Gerin stated. "Your friends are no longer here. The Earth will soon be reduced to ash and dust in this pointless civil war. I know it. Your friend in the back of your mind knows it. Even they, deep down, know it. Optimus cannot save you, the armies of Earth cannot save you… I am your only way out."

"So is that it?" Marcus cried. "I'm nothing more than a replacement for someone you lost years ago? And everything you've done, in all your games, with all the Decepticons attacking Earth, it was all to distract every Autobot and every human from the meeting we're having now! And don't deny it; the writing was on the bloody walls…"

"I won't deny you anything," Gerin murmured. "You remind me so much of him… his optimism, his troubles… but most especially his smile. You're so full of spirit, Marcus… you're one of the few humans who have it…"

Marcus sat back in the sand. Malevolus wandered over to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"_It is time Marcus."_

"_Time for what?"_

"_To choose."_

Marcus looked up, his eyes wet with tears. Gerin's silhouette blocked out the sun.

She reached down and pulled him into an embrace. He wept freely, a rush of emotions crashing through him.

"There, there…" she whispered.

"I… I…"

"It's here the river brought you," she told him. "And it's here the river meant. I will show you the universe; the last of our kinds, exploring all there is to explore, and everything else left behind. I have searched through countless systems, searching for the love I lost so long ago… and I found it. I love you as my own son and will forever more…

"Marcus, will you come with me, into the paradise beyond?"

Marcus pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes.

_This is what I must say 'yes' to…_

_It has all been for this moment. My survival… my future… _

_Her future…_

_She is not my mother…_

_Does that matter?_

Marcus looked into those eyes, eyes fuelled with knowledge unknown… and love unmatched.

"I…"

And then, behind her, two silhouettes on a hill.

They stood, shadows against a clear blue sky. They watched from a distance, as Marcus watched them.

Stacy and Ryder.

Marcus looked back to Gerin. The woman who had shown him nothing but kindness and love, and would show it for evermore…

But, far behind her;

His friends.

He made his decision.

"…No. I… I'm sorry…"

Gerin looked at him with disbelieving eyes. Her mouth opened, then closed. She left his embrace and looked down at him.

She turned and saw both Ryder and Stacy on the hill. Her fist clenched.

"No…" he whispered.

She looked back to Marcus.

"Please… they're my friends… my friends…"

Gerin looked back to them.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Then that is it," she said. "All I worked for, draining away…"

Her skin and clothes shimmered. Suddenly, to Marcus's eyes, she became… translucent. Her entire body became water, yet humanoid. Marcus could see right through her, yet within he saw the power she wielded; power to take over any mind she wished, power to spread her form through everything she commanded, power unmatched…

Yet no power in existence could make Marcus change his mind. But, deep within himself, he somewhat wished that power existed.

She turned to look at him, her eyes the colour of blazing topaz.

She gave her last, forlorn smile.

"It's time to take cover…" she whispered sadly. "There's a storm coming…"

And as steam rose from her body in the illuminating sun, her liquid form fell, crashing into the ground.

She was gone.

All that was left of Harbinger, was wet sand.

Marcus shook with grief. His hand scraped through the damp sand and pulled it out. It slipped through his fingers, already baking in the day.

Soon, his tears mingled with what remained of Harbinger.

"_We are the dead."_

Malevolus stared at the sand.

Then he turned and walked away.

* * *

><p>"Hey, kid."<p>

Marcus knelt in the sand, his face cold, his heart torn.

"We'd better get out of here. And by 'get out of here', I mean right now."

Marcus looked up, his eyes bleary. Stacy almost slammed into him, wrapping her arms around him, burying her head in his shoulder. Ryder sighed and looked to the north-west.

"Are you alright?" Stacy whispered.

Marcus said nothing and didn't move.

"Listen, whatever emotional turmoil you might be going through, save it for when we get out alive," Ryder interrupted. "Decepticons are about to turn this area into Ground Zero in just a few minutes."

Stacy pulled away as Marcus stood. He stared up at the sun, but had to turn away just a few seconds later.

_How could something we rely on for life be so deadly…?_

_Like water…_

"There's no way we can get away in time," he muttered. "This is where we die."

Stacy looked at him in shock. Ryder turned to him and frowned.

"Says who?"

Marcus fixed Ryder with a stare that seemed to say everything. Ryder frowned deeper and took off his glasses.

"We die when we all agree on dying," Ryder announced. "And I'm not just ready to vote for that yet. Stacy?"

"I don't want us to die!"

"It seems you've been outvoted, Twist," Ryder stated. "Democracy has decided; we're not dying just yet.

"SIXSHOT!"

A distant motorcycle kicked into gear. It roared over the dunes, tires tearing through every individual grain of sand. It braked up beside the three of them.

"The last three tickets to escape the gates of hell are going free," the cybertronian growled.

"That's not exactly a large seat…" Stacy muttered wearily.

But then another sound could be heard. Much like Sixshot, it was a distant roaring…

Much unlike Sixshot, it was far louder and far more menacing.

"Then again," Stacy decided, getting on. Ryder followed.

The two of them looked back to Marcus, who was staring down at the sand, the last vestiges of water disappearing in the setting sun.

"Oh, cry me a river," Ryder sighed. "Listen Marcus; are you coming with us, or staying with her?"

Marcus looked up. He gulped, before nodding. He joined the two of them on Sixshot.

"If you're not too busy…" Sixshot grunted. "Hang on."

He shot off into the Sahara, as thunder arrived.

* * *

><p>"Who's that?" Flatline asked as they bore down on Kublak Han. A vehicle was speeding in their direction.<p>

"One of those Autobots," Thundercracker chuckled. "Seeing as he's here…"

Four missiles sped down and impacted around Sixshot. He and his passengers were enveloped in flame.

"He's not the target," Astrotrain uttered. "Besides, where's Crashdive?"

"He'll be around," Thundercracker replied. "But he's probably long gone."

The dust-ridden base lay in the darkened jungle, empty and abandoned. It was almost forlorn.

"Let not one brick remain," Thundercracker muttered.

They opened fire.

As the sun descended, base, jungle and desert was immolated, the flames arcing into the sky.

* * *

><p><em>I'm too late…<em>

Bumblebee flew over what remained of Kublak Han. Actually, nothing remained. It was no more than blackened craters and ash, which were hard enough to detect in the night as they were.

_And the Decepticons claim another victory. HARP has been destroyed. Is there really anyway back from this?_

_This could very well be the end…_

And then he saw them.

He moved in to land, transforming and skidding through the ash. The four of them looked up with surprise.

"Bumblebee?" Stacy called. "Is that you?"

"I came as quick as I could," he muttered. "It seems they got away…"

"'Seems'?" Sixshot chuckled. "You could become a great detective with those skills."

"I don't need this from you," Bumblebee muttered, but managed a slight smile. "But then again, I guess this is the end of an era…"

Ryder nodded. "It's never going to be the same again after this."

Stacy smiled. "But at least we made it through. We've come this far!"

Even Marcus managed a little smile, though his mind was far away.

Bumblebee looked around at them all. Suddenly, his failure seemed of little importance.

_Yeah… we've survived this long. We've made it this far…_

_So I missed the Decepticons again. So what? They always come back and we'll be waiting for them!_

_And, one day, they won't get away._

Sixshot frowned and reached for his audio receptor.

"Communications are back up?" Bumblebee asked.

"That they are," Sixshot replied, standing up. "But…"

"What is it?" Bumblebee asked warily, detecting urgency in Sixshot's tone.

"Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Sixshot drew his revolvers.

"Hear this."

He aimed. He fired.

Bumblebee's head exploded in a shower of sparks and detritus. His corpse stood upright for a few seconds, before slumping over onto the ash-ridden ground.

Stacy screamed and Marcus pulled away, both of them looking up in shock. Ryder didn't move. He withdrew a cigarette and lit it.

Sixshot looked down at him and frowned.

"You're not surprised?"

"I knew you were going to betray us all the way back in Nevada," Ryder said, puffing smoke. "I just hoped that your time with us might have changed your mind."

Sixshot shook his head, both in wonder and disbelief. "My orders are to kill you all. But out of respect, Ryder, I'll save that for our next encounter."

"Our last encounter."

The humans and the cybertronian stared each other off.

"I don't believe it's the Decepticons," Ryder mused.

"It isn't," Sixshot confirmed. "There are others among the stars."

"And I guess that's who we're going up against next."

Sixshot nodded. Ryder sighed and ground the cigarette under his boot.

"It's a shame; you were the only one with brains around here."

Sixshot gave an amused grunt, before transforming.

Stacy and Marcus could only watch in shock, speechless.

The cybertronian spun around in the ash, facing the night.

...

"See you later, gunslinger."

Ryder gave a slight nod.

And then Sixshot drove into the night.


	34. Intermission

'Good-Mourning' Statistics for Season 1 and 2

This isn't your normal fanfic of friendly robots and completely irregular pairings; this is a spiralling, out-of-control, profanity-ridden, over-the-top, pretentious, plot-hole-filled, ultra-violent, philosophical, kill-fest of a fanfic.

And I love writing it!

So, as we're reaching the last season, here's a quick check-up on those who didn't make it and my personal favourite episodes so far.

Kill-List

(**Note 1**: There are no doubt a lot of unknown, innocent civilians or sorta-known, not-so-innocent soldiers who got killed. With a few exceptions, they're not listed here).

(**Note 2**: With the exception of Dead End, Ramirez and Harbinger every other death is thanks partially to Thundercracker, in one way or another).

**Dead End**: Killed by Optimus Prime.

**Lieutenant Ramirez: **Crushed by Flatline.

**Mudflap and Skids: **Killed off as quickly as possible so that the Author could get rid of those stereotypical twerps.

**Harriet Moore: **Killed by Ratbat.

**Beastbox: **Killed by Optimus Prime.

**Sam Witwicky: **Killed by Starscream (to help make way for new human protagonists).

**Mikaela Banes: **Killed by Harbinger's Badass Agent (to help fuel the Autobot/Decepticon war).

**Carly Spencer: **Killed by Harbinger's Badass Agent (to help get rid of _all _of Michael Bay's annoying human characters).

**Remembrance: **Decapitated by Sideswipe.

**Chromia: **Crushed by Shockwave.

**Kim the Pretender: **Stabbed through the skull by Marcus.

**Incinerator: **Cleaved like a cake, via Optimus Prime.

**Divebomb: **Killed by Stacy (Bet you didn't remember that one, eh?)

**Cyclonus: **Killed by Mirage.

**Recoiler: **Killed by HARP soldiers (See, they actually do something in this damn story!)

**Backlash: **Killed by HARP soldiers.

**Afterburner: **Killed by Lennox (It was not a good day for the Seekers…)

**Gunbarrel: **Killed by the Wreckers.

**Scrapper: **LEADFOOT FATALITY!

**Hightower: **Killed by the combined efforts of most of HARP (coup de grace provided by Arcee).

**Caltrop: **Killed by Sgt Recon.

**Brakedown: **Killed by Dropkick (In one of my personal favourite fight scenes!)

**Akil Farrah: **Righteously torn apart by an angry crowd.

**Scavenger: **Killed by Optimus Prime (NOTE: Scavenger's arm will prove to be valuable to the story in future!)

**Dropkick: **Bludgeoned to Death (You know who…)

**Those guys who died in a 'Reign of Starscream' flashback.**

**Captain Ahab**** and the crew of the HMS **_**Lionfish**_**: **Killed by Moby Di—uh, actually it was Starscream.

**Blazemaster: **Killed by Starscream.

**Storm Surge: **Killed by friendly fire (Deadlift couldn't hit the broad side of a barn).

**Sideways: **Killed by both Lieutenant Robertson's squad and Mirage. Or the long fall took him out.

**Skystalker: **Killed by Lieutenant Robertson.

**Sgt Ermine: **Killed by Astrotrain.

**Sgt Sanders: **Killed by Astrotrain.

**Lieutenant Gabriel Robertson: **Killed by Astrotrain.

**Silverbolt: **Cruelly killed by Starscream.

**Julius Jacobs: **Crushed by Mixmaster.

**Deadlift: **Killed by Bumblebee, in quite a large mood whiplash.

**Gregory Thorpe: **Killed by Harbinger's Badass Agent.

**Sonar: **Utterly destroyed by Space Case.

**Rampage: **Utterly destroyed by Space Case.

**Jetstorm: **Utterly destroyed by Space Case.

**Mixmaster: **Utterly destroyed by Space Case.

**Lieutenant Frederick Arnold: **Utterly destroyed by Space Case.

**Secretary of Defense, Charlotte Mearing: **Utterly destroyed by Space Case.

**Ruination: **Killed by Optimus Prime.

**Space Case: **Euthanized by Optimus Prime.

_**Loads **_**of The Destroyer's drones: **Torn apart by Ryder and Sixshot.

**Leo Spitz: **Killed by Harbinger's Badass Agent.

**Commander Rickon: **Killed by Commander Cunningham.

_**Loads **_**of New Yorkers: **Bludgeon and pals.

**Colonel William Lennox: **Bludgeoned to Death.

**General Redwood: **Killed by Crashdive's violent introduction.

**Landmine 4: **Killed by Fracture.

**Landmine 10: **Killed by Fracture.

**Tankor: **Killed by Sideswipe.

**Reverb: **Joyously eaten alive by the Dreads (Aww…)

**Bludgeon: **Killed by Optimus Prime, with help from Lady Liberty.

**Commander Eisenhower: **Killed by a combination of both Autobots and Decepticons.

**Everyone in Xanadu: **(With the exception of Harbinger and two special Transformers).

**Soundwave: **Killed by Harbinger.

**Stormslayer: **Decapitated by Thundercracker.

**Commander Cunningham: **Killed by Harbinger's Badass Agent.

**All the Answerers in the Topaz Mountain: **Killed by Harbinger's Badass Agent.

**The Topaz Mountain: **Collapsed by Harbinger's Badass Agent (Not really a kill, but it deserves to be on here simply because it _was a goddamn mountain_).

**Leadfoot: **Killed by Mirage.

**Landmine 1: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Landmine 2: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Landmine 3: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Landmine 5: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Landmine 6: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Landmine 7: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Landmine 8: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Landmine 9: **Killed by Crashdive.

**Topspin: **Murdered (off-page) by a possessed Leadfoot.  
><strong>Roadbuster: <strong>Murdered (off-page) by a possessed Topspin.

**Sgt Ricky 'Recon' Hart: **Died of injuries caused by the Wreckers.

**Randall Irving: **Killed by Harbinger.

**Fearswoop: **Killed by Harbinger (For a Decepticon who spent near the entire story in the Autobot camp, he lasted longer than most of the Autobots!)

**Commander Grimm and her Answerer force: **Destroyed by AC-130 Boogeyman.

**Harbinger's Badass Agent: **After spending the entire story killing movie-central characters and some other people, is finally crushed by *Ascended Extra* Crashdive.

**Harbinger: **Suicide.

**Bumblebee: **Killed by the turncoat, Sixshot.

And finally…

**Overload: **Killed (off-page) by human forces in Washington DC, while possessed by Harbinger.

Favourite Episode List:

There have been thirty-three episodes to 'Good Mourning' so far, with over 270,000 words and going! Here's the author's personal Top 10 favourite episodes:

**10. ****Spellbound**(In which Starscream has a crazy trip down memory lane, while killing Blazemaster. Stacy loses one of her true friends.)

**9. ****Bludgeoned to Death (Part 3) **(In which there is SURPRIZE CANNABALISM! And Bludgeon goes out in explosive style (I just slay them in the aisles, don't I?))

**8. Powerslave (Part 2) **(In which Akil Farrah gets his just deserves, while Bludgeon is given a rather impressive introduction. Oh yeah, and it's the first time the Autobots score an actual victory.)

**7. ****Ride the Lightning (Part 1) **(In which the Seekers are brutally annihilated, but HARP HQ at Area 51 is utterly destroyed. I like it for its pretty much non-stop action… and when Flatline's reaction to his boss's possible immolation is a crazy laugh.)

**6. Bludgeoned to Death (Part 1) **(In which Colonel William Lennox manages to delay Bludgeon, after the former has sacked New York.)

**5. ****The Badlands **(In which newcomer Sixshot proves he's not to be messed with.)

**4. Chaos Exultation… Good Night **(In which the fate of the Wreckers is learnt, Crashdive (a character I came up with in a minute because the Seekers were running low) kills some robots, and SURPRIZE REVELATIONS!)

**3. Ride the Lightning (Part 2) **(In which the author attempts a sort-of western. Starscream releases Stacy and there's no action.)

**2. ****Among the Living **(In which Astrotrain gives us a life-lesson. Oh yeah, and Mirage kills some Decepticons.)

**1. Xanadu **(You know. _That_ one.)

Leave a review with your Top 10 favourite episodes!

…Or not. Really, you don't have to. I ain't paying you. The only people I pay are the dyslexic monkeys who churn out a random chapter every week.

(Oh God, they're loose! Get off, you stupid apes! Get away from my hfidaojbas[ovbcyieaz))))


	35. Aftermath

The final season is here...

Fully planned out and incredibly climatic...

But, for now, some R&R before the really intense episodes! Conclusions are settled before the beginning of next week's three-parter!

Thanks to **Megan666, PrimesSPARROW, Le-AwEsOmE-One **and **Answerthecall **for your reviews!

(Note: **PrimesSPARROW**, the story isn't sadistic; it's just a number of characters in it are!) :D

* * *

><p>Dark and empty.<p>

Not a sound could be heard in that darkness. The ancient chambers did not creak and the starlight did not touch the shadows of that ship. It was a ghost ship, in more ways than one.

But, eventually, its crew returned.

One by one they descended, landing upon lunar surface. None were uninjured, some missing limbs, some clutching deep gashes. Others scampered into the shadows, while others leapt to the roof, staring back towards the Earth. But one paced through those empty corridors, each footfall not letting out a single echo.

He reached the throne room and stared up at it. He stared, long and hard.

Eventually, another Decepticon entered through a skylight, crawling through the rafters, smart enough to stay out of his leader's arm-reach.

"Lord Megatron," Starscream muttered. "The hatchlings have gone. The ones who haven't reported back are Lieutenants Thundercracker, Astrotrain and Skywarp. Flatline, Overload and Crashdive are unaccounted for also."

"Overload is dead," came another voice, resonating through the darkness. "I saw him fall."

Shockwave entered. Scars from his battle at Washington DC littered his body, his left hand missing a long, hooked claw. He stood triumphant though, many families ruined in his wake.

"Well that solves one mystery," Starscream snarled sarcastically. "Do you have an answer for the other soldiers we have missing?"

"No."

Megatron ignored them; he kept glaring at the throne.

"Where is Soundwave?" he uttered.

"Unknown, Lord Megatron," Shockwave replied. "Upon our return, I checked the satellite he should have been monitoring; he was not there."

"Do you think he took the hatchlings?" Megatron continued.

"Unknown, Lord Megatron—"

"WHAT IN THE PIT'S NAME HAPPENED?" Megatron roared, whirling on his commanders.

Shockwave and Starscream were silent. They knew better than to give speculation to such a furious question.

"From what I can gather," Shockwave finally answered. "Is that it was Harbinger who took control of us. Soundwave did warn us, yet we did not heed. And now he is gone, as are many of our experienced troops."

Megatron turned back to his seat, staring hard at the seat upon which he had sat nary a day before. And removed by legs that were not his own.

_Ruler of the strongest military force in the galaxy… and beaten by someone we cannot see nor fight._

He raised his hand, claws pulling back into a blaster. He levelled it at the throne.

With a single blast, the captain's chair was blown to pieces, the fragments flailing throughout the air. Starscream leapt back in surprise, retreating into the shadows. Shockwave stood, unmoving, a piece of an arm-rest clanging off his head. He took no notice.

"We've been hiding on this rock for far too long," Megatron growled. "Waiting… waiting for what? Waiting for our enemies to move against us, waiting for the sun to run out of fuel, waiting for the galaxy to end at last? We have waited for far too long… Shockwave, contact our forces. I want every last one of our soldiers here upon this satellite, ready to fight a _real _war."

"Understood, Lord Megatron," Shockwave replied, leaving.

"And what would you have me do, my lord?" Starscream inquired.

"Head to Earth. Take your Seekers too; destroy targets of opportunity."

"My lord," Starscream argued, hesitating. "I have only two Seekers remaining…"

"THEN USE THEM! DO NOT DISOBEY ME!"

Starscream nodded hurriedly and scampered off.

Megatron turned to the ship's exit.

"We shall not remain here a minute longer," he promised, each footfall not making a sound as he left.

_The Decepticons are returning. Harbinger, Optimus, Soundwave… whoever stands in our way will be crushed. And. We. Shall. Rule._

* * *

><p><span>Episode 31: Aftermath<span>

_You're children of the damned  
>Your backs' against the wall<br>You turn into the light  
>You're burning in the night<br>You're children of the damned  
>Like candles, watch them burn<br>Burning in the light  
>You'll burn again tonight<br>You're children of the damned_

—**Children of the Damned**

* * *

><p>Optimus strode out into the sunlight. He looked up at the sky.<p>

Sirens blared in the distance.

"_Thousands of people are reported__ dead across the world,_" a TV blared somewhere. "_In Washington DC, the dead and dying line the streets; In Buenos Aires, the city is ablaze, fire crews working throughout the night; in Tokyo city, skyscrapers once stood._"

"It's worse than they say, isn't it?" Optimus muttered.

"I'm afraid so," Major Fenway, commander of HARP Arizona replied. "Apparently, cities weren't their only targets; HARP South Africa and HARP Ukraine were wiped out as well."

Optimus muttered something under his breath. It had taken many hours for an evacuation of his body to even begin and took several hours more to deliver him to the HARP base out in Arizona. Members of HARP weren't just specialised in Decepticon-killing; the technicians and scientists had been able to heal Optimus to the best of their abilities, which had been enough. He now stood out on another runway, Major Nicholas Fenway by his side.

"It's an honour to meet you, sir," the major said earnestly.

"I am no-one's commander, Major," Optimus replied. "In fact, you outrank me. But it's good to see that at least some humans here have a modicum of morals and values."

Fenway nodded. "I heard about that. They're called the Answerers, aren't they? What's their deal?"

"I have no idea. As far as our intelligence has reported, they are a highly militarised group, although their combat experience is considerably small. What has me most worried though is how many troops they have; it is far too many for a Private Military Company or the likes."

"Shouldn't we be concentrating on the Decepticons? Or this Harbinger?"

Optimus shook his head. "The airwaves are clear. I assume General Mason's plan worked; Harbinger is probably dead. As for the Decepticons, after their recent attack under Harbinger's influence, I doubt they have the stomach for fighting anytime soon. This is our chance to hunt down these 'Answerers' and wipe them off the map."

"Is that all, sir?"

Optimus smiled. "I guess so—"

"Major Fenway!" a young private called, coming up to the two of them. He saluted Optimus Prime before turning to his commander. "Sir… it's Kublak Han…"

Optimus's spine froze. Fenway frowned.

"What's happened, private?"

"Kublak Han, sir; it's been completely destroyed."

* * *

><p>"Who's in charge here?" Epps called.<p>

"I don't think you should be bossing them around," Mirage whispered, his hands raised.

Several tanks circled the members of HARP. Epps, Mirage, Arcee, Ratchet and the small contingent of soldiers all had their hands raised, waiting for a commander of sorts to appear.

"I thought we took out Akil Farrah," Arcee whispered.

"We did," Ratchet replied croakily, his voice box still shaky after its most recent repair. "But one of his general's took over."

"So nothing changed," Mirage muttered. "Nothing ever changes."

"Dictators are like weeds," Epps told him. "You pull one up, another's ready to sprout up in its place."

"Exactly," a voice called.

One of the tank's hatches opened. A figure appeared, smiling.

"I am President Muzaffar Kassis of Audi Sarabia," the man said, still smiling. "And you are all my prisoners."

"What a grand introduction," Mirage muttered. He whispered to Epps; "_Are you sure this was a good idea._"

"Don't worry. He'll let us go."

"Oh really?" Kassis chuckled, a full grin spread across his features. "And why would I give up such valued intruders who are unlawfully on my property? Your heads would be very valuable for Megatron's mantelpiece."

"You're working for the Decepticons?" Epps asked, trying to not appear shocked.

"Of course," Kassis continued. "Me and Soundwave are thick as thieves. Metaphorically speaking, of course."

Epps saw an opportunity. "So when did Soundwave tell you about the nation-wide assault by the Decepticons?"

Kassis frowned. "Well… what won't concern me, doesn't concern me."

"Come on; the Decepticons begin the sacking of Earth, someone called Harbinger takes over communications… and yet one of the Decepticons' top human agents isn't informed. Are you sure you haven't been forgotten? I bet not one Decepticon has visited you since we took out Farrah."

Kassis rested his arms on the tank. "So your point is what?"

"My point is, you can tell the Decepticons we were never here. Hell, you could even gain a few points with them; in the rock are three Autobot corpses. You can give them to your masters… but as long as we're left free."

Kassis scratched his chin, obviously deep in thought. "And what's stopping me from killing or capturing you guys as well as keeping the corpses?"

"Because we'll fight back."

Kassis spread his arms out wide and laughed. "I'm afraid your outnumbered and outgunned; you don't stand a chance."

"You're right," Epps replied. "But we'll be aiming for you."

Kassis frowned. "If you kill me, another dictator will just step in my shoes."

"Probably. But you won't be around to see it."

The two sides glared at one another, bluffs pulled and played. Epps stared into the eyes of the dictator.

Kassis gave a little chuckle.

"Alright then; this deal sounds fair enough. You'll receive escort to Bushka. Just don't try anything on the way…"

Around half the tanks rolled onwards to the red rock.

"We're letting them keep the Wreckers?" Mirage asked angrily. "They deserve to be buried!"

"I know… but they are dead. We are not. So, burials or not, we can always return, an army in tow."

* * *

><p>"What the fuck happened?" Jetreaper asked angrily.<p>

"Like I know," Overcast replied bitterly.

The last two of Starscream's Seekers sat on the _Ark_'s roof and stared at the marble in the distance. It sat in space, mocking them.

"And now bloody Thundercracker's probably dead too," Jetreaper muttered. "This is just bullshit!"

Jetreaper was one of the most recent additions to the Decepticon ranks. He had been one of the few hatchlings to grow quickly; too quickly. He had picked a fight with Crankcase and been left in Flatline's infirmary while the rest of the Decepticons had flown to Earth, their minds not their own. Naturally, upon waking, he had been brimming with curiosity, heading to the only Decepticon who didn't treat him like rookie scum. He also was quite the swearer, which just made the other Decepticons hate him even more.

"Fuckin' bullshit, that's what this is," he continued. "You went down there! How can you not know?"

Overcast shrugged. He was feeling a bit blue, with good reason; if the last two members of your squadron were a young, potty-mouthed wannabe and your ambitious, sociopathic commander, you'd be pretty pissed off as well. He was also angry at the fact that the other Seekers hadn't returned, wherever they had gone; Skywarp and he had been good friends. For one, he didn't rant like a sailor.

"Nobody knows nothin'" Jetreaper said, still angry. "Yeah right; you're just leaving me out again…"

"AND WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?" roared a deep voice, causing both Jetreaper and Overcast to fall off the roof in fear. Both of them looked up out of the moon-dust.

Thundercracker stood above them, Flatline and Astrotrain juxtaposed to him.

"Not keeping a very good watch, are you?" Thundercracker hissed. "And you're Seeker material? Kill me now, before one of your stray missiles accidentally does the job in battle."

"Lieutenant Thundercracker!" Overcast finally managed to cry, saluting. "Request permission to ask where you've been, sir!"

"Request denied," Thundercracker growled. "Where's Commander Starscream?"

"Right here," growled another voice, and Thundercracker almost joined his inferiors on the ground. The three returning Decepticons turned and saw their commander perched like a vulture upon a skyward spire.

"But I must concur with Overcast," Starscream continued. "Where have you been, lieutenant?"

Thundercracker narrowed his optics. "Myself and several others who weren't possessed went to Earth to find the cause of this unsettling… development. There, we learned it was a creature known as Harbinger."

Starscream said nothing, so Thundercracker continued.

"We learned that the source of Harbinger was coming from the HARP base known as Kublak Han. We headed there and destroyed it. This freed the other Decepticons, allowing them to return here."

Starscream suspiciously glanced at the three returning soldiers in turn. Thundercracker and Flatline had to look away, but Astrotrain glared back, a flicker of a smile upon his lips.

"You," Starscream uttered, pointing at Astrotrain. "Report back to your own commander. Thundercracker, report all this to Lord Megatron."

Thundercracker flinched, but moved on with another word. Astrotrain grinned fully before descending through holes in the roof.

"And me, sir?" Flatline inquired.

"There are a lot of injured troops, me included," Starscream said. "So get back to the infirmary, _now_."

Flatline was about to scamper off, when something flickered in the space far above them. All four looked up.

Crashdive slammed onto the roof, shaking the rafters of the entire _Ark_. He glared at Flatline. Starscream glared at him.

"And where have you been?" Starscream hissed.

Crashdive didn't even bother giving his commander any acknowledgement. He simply grabbed a terrified Flatline by the throat and forcefully dragged him down into the depths of the ship.

Starscream was left alone with the two lowest-ranked Seekers.

"Uh… orders, sir?" Overcast asked.

Starscream sighed. _When you want something done right…_

"Let's go," he muttered.

"G-Go?"

"You guys sick of this place?"

Both Overcast and Jetreaper nodded eagerly.

"Then let's go kill some humans."

* * *

><p>"And so, I must profess, this is a grand victory for HARP," Mason announced with pride.<p>

The most recently elected Secretary of Defence, Samuel Cole, raised an eyebrow. Beside him, the Chief of Staff, Harry Pierce, grunted.

"Charles, as much as I would like to believe you," Cole said slowly. "I doubt the destruction of your base and the displacement of your troops counts as a 'grand victory'."

Mason stared at the two screens in front of him. As he was stuck in Casablanca without any fuelled planes, he had been forced to conduct his proud speech across a secure web-cam conversation. However, much to Mason's annoyance, the President was unavailable.

"Using _Decepticon _troops, may I remind you, I tricked them into wiping out an empty and compromised base. Well, not exactly empty; Harbinger was there and the resultant blast killed her—it… yes, killed it. You can't believe it is a mere coincidence that as soon as Kublak Han was destroyed, the world's problem with that annoying voice ended… as did the Decepticon threat to the whole of mankind."

At this, Cole gave a slight smile. Mason smiled as well, knowing that he had at least one member of the higher echelons in his pocket. But Pierce wasn't so easily swayed.

"So explain this to me," Harry Pierce grunted, his heavy-set features lacking any mirth. "How is it that a threat to the entire world… originates from the command centre of Earth's best defenders?"

Mason nervously scratched his leg. "We had, as much as I hate to admit it, a traitor in our ranks."

"I thought you chose your people with care, general…"

"I have to say, _sir_, the traitor in question wasn't one of my choices. The person itself was transferred under the orders of Brigadier-General Roy Desmond."

"Desmond?" Pierce said, frowning. "He's one of my men…"

"Then, _sir_, I suggest you pick _your _men with more care."

Desmond was ruffled, giving Cole more amusement. But the Chief of Staff bounced right back.

"Well, I've been doing some digging of my own into your Human/Autobot Resistance _Pact_—" He practically spat the word. "—And I found some rather disturbing things…"

"Like what?" Mason asked, trying to feign confidence.

"Apparently, ever since the Decepticons returned, on the Autobot's watch mind you, three children have accompanied the Autobots wherever they go…"

_Goddamnit. I knew those sods would come back to haunt me…_

_Hang on, where were they during the—_

_OH SHIT THE BASE!_

Mason visibly paled, something which neither television missed.

Cole frowned. "I assume these rumours are mere rumours, general?"

"O-Of course, sir. I… I have just received a new transmission from Optimus Prime; this looks urgent and may have grave repercussions if not seen to…"

Pierce visibly paled at having been told the barefaced lie. "General, if you cut us off—"

The TVs went black. Mason sighed heavily as sweat fell down his face; and it wasn't just from the meeting or the heat.

_If those kids were still in there…_

_How did I miss them?_

He summoned one of the soldiers.

"Get as many helicopters as you can; send them down to Kublak Han to check for survivors…"

"…Sir, there's nothing left standing."

"I know that! Just get me something that couldn't have come out of a broken grill!"

* * *

><p>The sky darkened. A low rumble rebounded off the castle walls.<p>

The ancient masonry had long ago crumbled, but out in the mountains of Germany, the place had been a Teutonic fort unmatched. Not that anyone had attacked it. And, due to its altitude and lack of fame, it was rarely visited. Certainly not at night, where a misplaced step could send you screaming over the mountainside.

But it was here where the last remnants of Soundwave's power drew. Through moonlit corridors of ancient stonework, metal beasts crawled with dulled purpose, their master dead, their cause lost.

But within lay a creature, armed with will and testament.

The four beasts stood under the darkened roof. Above them, in the rafters, their new master awaited, the only one granted full intelligence by their creator.

"Do not despair," Laserbeak muttered, his gravelly, mournful voice carrying through the ruined castle. "For our master gave us one last mission to complete…

"We will enact Operation Echidna."

The beasts roared their support, the echoes of their din drowning out the thunder.

Laserbeak knew that, successful or not, Echidna would be the last mission he would ever do.

_For you master, we will burn this Earth._

_It is love that will kill them all._

* * *

><p>"What is it?" Flatline demanded.<p>

_I've been forced into my own infirmary by the dumb mute. This is going to be a long night…_

Crashdive motioned Flatline to follow, leading him over to the medic's workbench. Flatline reluctantly went with him, but he knew that if he declined, he might end up on the bench.

Crashdive lay a small figure on the bench.

"What the—?" Flatline started, but didn't finish. Crashdive was giving him a killer glare.

The medic stared at the prone human. "Well… she's been patched up. And… how did you get her an oxygen cylinder and mask?"

Crashdive splayed his arms out, indicating the infirmary, before making a _small _gesture with his fingers.

"You took her to an insect hospital?" Flatline asked, incredulous. "Are you insane?"

Crashdive grinned and nodded. Then he drew a thumb across his throat—indicating _'no witnesses'_.

"Fine then," Flatline hissed impatiently. "What do you want me to do with the female?"

Crashdive pointed the tip of a finger at Kaminari's stump. He then traced the same finger up his other arm, all the way to his neck.

Flatline understood and nodded. "But what exactly are you giving me for this? This'll cost extra…"

Crashdive simply chuckled. He pointed at Flatline's remaining optic and grinned. The medic got the message.

Crashdive turned to leave, but Flatline called after him. "But just tell me this; why? Why do you want to save the life of one little insect?"

Crashdive stopped. Finally, he approached one of the infirmary's walls and used his fingers to scratch a message. Flatline grimaced as he read.

After he had finished, Crashdive left.

"Well, gee thanks," Flatline grumbled miserably. "You know, just leave profanity on the walls of my hospital, how very charitable…"

The wall scrawling roughly translated into:

BASTARD HURT I  
>BITCH HURT BASTARD<br>I WANT PET BITCH TO HURT MORE BASTARDS

* * *

><p>The children of the wasteland stared into the rising sun.<p>

They walked across miles of ash, still raining down from the sky. They trundled past pillars of soot and burning branches. All three of them were dejected, each suffering from an individual loss.

Ryder had lost one of the few comrades he had fought with. Sixshot had battled beside him and that made him likeable in Ryder's opinion. But as soon as shit started getting poetic, he knew that Sixshot was a traitor. But he had waited too long, waiting for Sixshot to play his hand, and he now had. It was a shame, Ryder reflected, that someone's intelligence was marred by their loyalty.

Stacy had been good friends with Bumblebee, when the latter wasn't out killing Decepticons. The poor soul had been tortured by the loss of Sam, still after all this time, and had nearly distanced himself from the other Autobots. But they had talked and he had seemed kind enough. He had in fact reminded Stacy of Blazemaster… and that Autobot now seemed almost a ghost, as if he had never existed.

But Marcus's loss…

"_Malevolus…"_

_There was no answer._

"_Please. You know what I'm going through. Are you there?"_

_There was no answer._

"_Is it true that I've condemned us to die?"_

_There was no answer._

"…_I don't believe it."_

_There was no answer._

"_Everything I do from now… it can't lead to our deaths can it?"_

"_It isn't about what you can do, Marcus," Malevolus whispered. "It's about what you did."_

"_Bullshit! Anyone can change their future!"_

"_No, Marcus. In that one regard, you are absolutely wrong."_

The three of them approached a rise in the ash. They stood atop it, looking out in all directions.

There was nothing but grey. Neither a single tree nor speck of sand remained.

"H-How could the Decepticons do this?" Stacy whispered.

"They unleashed their entire arsenal," Ryder replied. "The ash then floated down all over the place."

Stacy looked down at the ground, a tear rolling down her cheek. "No-one got out, did they?"

Ryder shrugged. "You never know. The Autobots should have been unharmed, at the very least."

"Does it even matter?" Marcus interrupted. "The war continues. Nothing remains of HARP but the ash around us. The Autobots are thousands of miles away, we're in the middle of nowhere, and the dust that's seeping into our lungs right now could kill us in five years! Oh yeah, and Sixshot was the traitor all along!"

Ryder looked at him, frowning. "No need to make it so melodramatic. You're also wrong about one thing."

Marcus glared at him. "What?"

"Sixshot. He appeared _after _the rumours of a traitor were popping up."

Marcus sat back in the ash. "Thank God! For a moment there, I thought we had too much to worry about! Thanks, Ryder! You know how to make a guy feel swell!"

Ryder pointed at his coat. "This blocks out fearful sarcasm as well, you know. I honestly can't hear what you just said."

"Whatever…"

Stacy looked at the both of them, desperate. "So what are we going to do then? Just sit back and wait, hoping that a hitchhiker comes strolling past?"

Ryder pointed at his coat and feigned deafness. Marcus just sighed, but didn't reply.

In the end, Stacy sat back in the ash as well.

The children of the wasteland had given up.

* * *

><p>As the oil-rig burned, with people screaming and dying, Starscream got thinking about life and life's most important feature, death.<p>

_I get a second chance at life and what do I do? I destroy tiny little hives for the sake of wasting time…_

_In some ways Thundercracker has more brains than I do. He hasn't died… in fact, he's the one who resurrected us all. And now he's also the one who rescues us from someone we have no idea about… it's ridiculous._

He grunted and sent a missile flying into a Coast Guard boat.

_I wouldn't be surprised if Megatron replaces me with him. It seems all I do today is breed disloyalty._

"Did you see that, boss?" Jetreaper laughed as he tore open the oil rig and went to work with his scythe and flamethrowers. "Little fuckers think they can swim faster than we can shoot!"

Overcast flew overhead, shooting military jets out of the sky. Starscream sat back on the rig and sighed.

"How monotonous."

_Then again, Thundercracker as commander wouldn't be too bad. For one, he would listen to everything I say. Admittedly, his greatest trait is his loyalty… something all too rare among our race these days._

Starscream looked up at the sun.

_In truth, I am only commander because I am the best. Completely and utterly unmatched in the air. One day, Megatron will learn that… far too late…_

Behind him, Jetreaper whooped as he cleaved open a barge. Starscream stared at the sun and realised the truth. The utter truth.

_I miss our home. It was a ruin… but those walls were ours. We paced through hallowed halls and climbed spires of eternal night. It was our home._

_Gone… forever…_

"We're done here," Starscream announced.

"Sir?" Jetreaper asked.

"I said we're done, Jetreaper," Starscream said. "There is no point in continuing this course of action. It offers no rewards, so there is no victory."

Jetreaper shrugged. "More humans die! So what if there is no fucking victory; such is life. Get over yourself and have some fun!"

He continued rampaging, much to Starscream's chagrin.

"You dare disobey me?" the commander uttered.

Jetreaper stopped on the edge of the rig. He slowly turned around.

"No, sir," he muttered sulkily. "I'm just questioning your fucking orders. But if you want us to stop, fine."

Starscream narrowed his optics.

_I inspire such loyalty in others…_

_No wonder Dreadwing and the likes rebelled._

"…Fine then. Continue on your mindless rampage. Maybe you'll learn _something_ of intelligence among the flaming debris."

Jetreaper snorted and went back to picking off fleeing workers attempting to swim away.

His machine-gun chattered and the ocean ran red.

* * *

><p>"I'll not be back…" Ryder murmured. "I will be free…"<p>

"What are you rambling on about now?" Stacy muttered from where she sat. Her elbows on knees, her face in hands, she was dejected and lost. Marcus stood, staring darkly at the ground. Ryder lay back on a blackened stone.

"Just think; in the future, when we pass away, there'll be kids playing. They'll play in the sun, on ground where battles were fought, on ground where heroes fell, on ground we have travelled. We played too, on ground that had been trodden before by other kids, other heroes. Despite what people say, things never change. Days end as night falls. Night falls as day rises. And here I am, on top of everything."

The three of them thought about this as the sun began to set. With nothing but ash for miles around, they caught the view of day falling. A crimson sphere, so far away…

"It's beautiful," Stacy murmured.

Marcus looked up, his eyes red.

"Yeah… yeah, it is."

And as they looked out to the horizon, the helicopters approached.

* * *

><p>As they got on board, travelling to a new destination, a new adventure…<p>

As a fallen warrior sat in the blazing sun…

As the forces of hate and loathing gathered atop the lunar surface…

As those who answer prepared for an arrival…

As forgotten soldiers sailed away from a desolate country…

As the last Prime prepared for exile…

The creatures of a dead master enacted his last wish;

Echidna.


	36. The Mother of All Monsters Part 1

OH. MY. GOD.

I'm SO sorry this up so late (as in one WHOLE day) but it turns out that the holidays take up more time than actual work!

Oh well, final GCSEs this week! :O I haven't revised jack!

Enough of my incredibly boring personal life; this chapter's a bit short so that I could stuff in the epic battle scenes for the next chapter!

Thank you all for sticking with me this far! :D

* * *

><p>General Mason strode down the corridors of the White House.<p>

"General Charles Mason?" a marine on duty asked, proud and dignified in his dress uniform. "The President's expecting you in his office."

"I know," the general said with a smile, pushing through a set of double doors. He strode through an old room, filled with legendary furniture and cavernous windows.

_You still feel a sense of wonder every time you come through here…_

Mason stopped by an old oak table, stroking a finger upon its teak surface. He yawned; jetlag still permeating his brain.

_Leaders of the most powerful country in the world sat here… still sit here. And I will meet with another._

He looked out one of the windows and grimaced at the damaged Washington Monument in the distance.

_But even the leader of the free world isn't untouchable. Although the Rangers managed to bag one Decepticon, they could do nothing against Shockwave. Actually, I doubt anything short of a nuke will stop _that _guy._

"Charles!" called a woman's voice. "Oh, it's great to see you again!"

Mason turned, a smile on his face. First Lady Denise Callahan approached, a smile on her lips.

"Denise," Mason replied. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I'll say. Frankly Charles, Edward's been up the shitter ever since Pierce got into the office. It's good to see a reliable face around here. You here to speak to him personally?"

"He got me across the Atlantic to meet face-to-face," Mason grumbled. "Whatever my new joint is, I don't see how it can be better than HARP."

"Oh yes, I heard about the dreadful business down in the desert," Denise sighed. "We've been getting calls every minute from one country or another, wondering where the hell the Autobots were."

"They were getting their asses kicked, that's where," Mason replied with a grimace. "So whether I'm getting fired, reposted or being in charge of a counterattack is anyone's guess."

Denise hesitated and Mason frowned.

"Is there something wrong?"

"…It's Edward," Denise said. "Frankly, he looks terrible."

"That's unsurprising," Mason replied a light-hearted smile. "With all the calls he's no doubt been getting."

"Well… I'm not sure. He was always a firm man, able to deal with any situation… really, I think it's because he's spent time away from his daughter."

"Little Cassie? Why, where is she?"

"Summer camp with her friends, you know how it is. But Edward does dote on her…"

Mason raised his hands and gave a beefy smile. "Look, we'll sort out everything. If Edward's troubled, then it's up to us to sort out his problems. I'll start rallying our extra-terrestrial friends and get some results."

Denise nodded, her face suddenly crestfallen. "Did you know Jimmy Burke?"

"Yeah, he worked with Levinson in the senate… wait, what do you mean 'did'?"

Denise inclined her head towards the window, where the devastated streets were still being cleared up.

"Goddamnit," Mason swore. "Alright, I'll see what I can do…"

"Good luck Charles. You're one of the best men we've got."

Mason continued on to the Oval Office, where two Secret Service agents waited outside.

"General Mason?" asked one of them, who Mason remembered was named Sherpa. "The President and SecDef are waiting for you within."

_Sam's here as well? It must be big…_

Mason nodded in thanks before opening the door into the Oval Office. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

He almost gasped in shock.

There were not two people in the room, but three.

President Edward Callahan sat behind his desk, hands together in something akin to a prayer. His stern features were strained, his eyes squared securely on some faraway vision. He did not look a man in charge of millions of lives.

Samuel Colt looked even worse. He was sweating bullets, his suit stained and ruined. He looked up at Mason with something akin to both fear and relief. He sat on a couch, flexing his fingers repeatedly.

Lounging on another couch, almost lazily, was a vulture.

"General Mason," Laserbeak hissed gleefully. "Welcome to our side."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 32: The Mother of All Monsters (Part 1)<span>

_In the Houses of the Holy  
>To the middle of the mystic city<br>At the cradle of the world…  
>There's a black cat screaming<br>And it's not even midnight, no  
>At the cradle of the world…<em>

—**Lock Up The Wolves**

* * *

><p>"Home soil," Epps murmured happily as he looked out over the dock. "It's good to be back."<p>

The last remnants of the original HARP had finally returned. The soldiers released by President Kassis milled about in the large New York harbour, staring out over the East River. The sun was out and shining, revealing the city in all its forgotten glory.

Epps let out a small, sad sigh.

"He really did a number on, this place…"

The city was still in ruins from Bludgeon's invasion, short-lived as it had been. The city was dark and unmoving, the population never having fully returned. People had died or fled during the battle and no-one wanted to return to the husk of a blighted city; a city filled with many memories. Memories of the lights flashing on Broadway… and the lights dying down on Broadway. Of sweat and work, of children laughing in the parks, of an atmosphere not found in any other city on the planet. A city of history, a city of stature, a city unlike any other. It was simply titanic, both in scale and design…

No longer. And Epps finally began to realise what this meant. Washington had history, Los Angeles had gloss, Detroit had grit… but New York was the soul of America. The beating heart, the centre of it all; no longer. The Big Apple was rotten. Its numbers would never return, it's heart would never beat again. The lights of Broadway were gone for good.

"What are you thinking about?" Mirage asked, coming up behind him.

Epps turned. "Just… the city. It's empty. The first major casualty in this war… as if it's saying America's next."

"And then the world?"

Epps nodded, staring out at the darkened skyscrapers.

Mirage scratched his chin. "I suppose it could be poetic."

"No…" Epps muttered bitterly. "It's just sad."

* * *

><p>"It's sad, isn't it?" Laserbeak chuckled. "That after all your fighting, you're brought low by this…"<p>

"And what are _you _doing here?" Mason hissed angrily.

"Don't make it any worse than it already is, Charles," Colt murmured, terror clearly written on his face.

"Me?" Laserbeak clucked. "I'm here to… negotiate. You get me what I want and no-one gets hurt… but otherwise…"

"If you're here to negotiate," Mason grumbled. "Why didn't you come through the Autobots?"

"Because these negotiations concern them," Laserbeak said slyly. "And they can be rather… _obtuse _when it comes to representatives of their opponents. Please, take a seat."

General Mason sat next to Samuel Colt and stared hard at the Decepticon spread out on the couch, arrogant in whatever supremacy he thought he had. Mason also noted that Callahan had not moved an inch or said one word.

"What's going on?" Mason asked, enraged.

"You see, we all have resources," Laserbeak announced. "You have the largest single military force in the world outside of China and North Korea, which will follow the orders of their President. While I, one single Decepticon with friends, have something even more valuable…"

Mason frowned hard.

_What the hell is going on?_

"Cut the crap," Callahan finally spoke, gruff and single-minded. "Mason; they have my daughter."

"Oh…"

"Poor little Cassie," Laserbeak cackled. "For now she has all her limbs and digits still attached. To keep that permanent, the Autobots must go."

Mason clenched a fist. _Goddamnit…_

He looked to Callahan.

_Would he really take out the Autobots for a single life, as valuable as it is? If the deal was to kill a busload of soldiers, he would deny it immediately; but aliens… aliens who bring death and destruction wherever they go. To kick them off Earth…_

"I think we may be able to come to that arrangement," Samuel Colt placated. "If we simply kick the Autobots out, then you'll—"

"You misunderstand me," Laserbeak interrupted. "I want no more Autobots pretending to leave, or Optimus pulling off any heroics, or having them hide in an engine booster; I want you to kill them all, with every resource you have available. I want no imagery, no stage executions, no flashing lights; I want you to send in your soldiers and wipe them out. All of them. Pull back your human soldiers if you want… but when the sun sets on this day, it must be the last one they ever see."

Mason looked to Callahan and instantly knew it was all over for HARP.

_The curtain call… all for one little girl. He…_

"Oh yes, one last thing," Laserbeak muttered. "I wouldn't think about suicide, Mr Callahan. Vice-President Thomas Chaplow is in our pocket and he would be _very _pleased to get rid of any elements that could stand in the way of his future world ruling. Amendment twenty-five's a bit of a bitch, isn't it?"

Colt and Mason looked startled at this revelation. Callahan simply closed his eyes, the smallest sigh escaping his lips.

Laserbeak leapt from the couch and flicked open a window with his tail before turning back to the Oval Office.

"That'll be all, gentlemen," he chuckled. "Just remember; when the sun rises in the morning, Optimus Prime and his soldiers must be in the ground… or your little girl will be instead."

He flew out, shooting into the sky.

There was nervous silence in the room.

"General Mason," Callahan finally uttered. "No matter who is dead by tomorrow, that little vulture fuck better be joining them."

"I assure you, sir," Mason replied. "That's the first thing on my mind."

"Well it shouldn't be," Colt muttered. "We need to dispatch all our agencies into finding the President's daughter—"

"Do you think I got elected because I'm stupid, Sam?" Callahan growled. "Every file that HARP gets comes by me first; that was Laserbeak and he works for Soundwave, a Decepticon who has his fingers in every intelligence network on the planet at the same time. He would know the NSA or the CIA would be looking for Cassandra before they would."

"Then…" Mason muttered.

"But can we really hold off the Decepticons with the troops we have at our disposal?" Colt questioned.

"Chicago and New York proved we can't," Callahan stated. "And, most recently, the whole world's gone to shit thanks to a coordinated Decepticon assault."

Neither Mason nor Colt had the nerve to raise Harbinger. More important matters were at hand.

"I can't believe Tommy's a traitor…" Colt hissed.

"It could just be trying to mess with our heads," Mason said uselessly.

"Either way, I can't trust anyone outside of this room," Callahan said. "Not Tommy, not Pierce, hell, not even my own Secret Service."

There was another nervous silence.

"So then…" Mason murmured at last. "What do we do?"

* * *

><p>"Megatron's got it all planned," Overcast announced. "We're attacking tomorrow on American soil!"<p>

Skyrender yawned as he sharpened his scythe. Crashdive simply stared up at the faraway Earth.

Overcast sighed and kicked the lunar dust.

"Frankly, I don't see why anyone bothers anymore!" he suddenly burst out. "Megatron, Starscream, Shockwave; they're all complete IDIOTS! This war's just been dragging on for centuries and the only proper attack we've done is WHEN WE WERE BEING POSSESSED! Add to the fact that the Decepticon left in charge of the hatchlings buggers off to Primus knows where with them! For Pit's sake, we're all so screwed! We might as well all just shoot each other in the heads for all that anything matters! And _now _we're attacking? We're actually doing something? After we've lost pretty much everything, including our dignity, seeing as we got saved by guys like the lieutenant? It all just… pisses me off! WHY CAN'T WE DO SOMETHING NOW!"

Crashdive turned, almost lazily, and stared at Overcast. He gave a derogatory sneer before turning back to the Earth.

Skyrender grunted, uninterested. "Fucking hell, take a stress pill mate. I'd rather remain alive in limbo than fuck off to a sepulchre as soon as possible."

Overcast pointed an accusing finger at Skyrender and cried; "You're new here, runt! YOU NEVER EVEN SAW CYBERTRON!"

"I know. And, actually, I'm kind of glad I never saw that piece of shit. From the sounds of things, you guys screwed it up pretty fucking bad back home."

Overcast glared with rage, almost ready to sock the other Decepticon when Crashdive coughed. It surprised them, for Crashdive never coughed; it was physically unneeded by cybertronians anyway.

He pointed up to space. The other two Decepticons looked as well…

Something flickered in the distance. Something large… and out of control.

They saw it headed towards Earth.

"We don't do nothin' now, do we fuckface?" Skyrender chuckled, transforming and shooting into space. "Let's get some of this new arrival!"

Crashdive followed him into the void.

"Or an old one," Overcast muttered.

He transformed and shot into the blackest ocean.

* * *

><p>Arcee shot down the highway.<p>

"Where's Optimus?" she asked hotly.

"_HARP Washington,_" Ratchet replied. "_You know, the plane's probably quicker…_"

"Yeah right; frankly, I need to stretch my legs after being holed up in that boat for three days straight."

"_Everything's going haywire; from what I can gather from the human rulers, the petition to kick us off the planet is going to be passed in the next couple of days._"

"Well that sounds great," Arcee hissed. "But I also couldn't give a crap about any of that; give me Washington's coordinates."

"_It looks like out last home before we're permanently exiled,_" Ratchet told her as he uploaded the location of HARP Washington. "_In fact, this is probably our last journey…_"

Arcee tensed as she swerved past a truck. "Don't speak like that… how's Sideswipe doing?"

"_General Mason should never have revived him; he dropped unconscious as soon as he arrived in Casablanca. I'm afraid his chances of living through it are still critical._ _Bludgeon's wounds still bite deep…_"

"What about Bumblebee and Sixshot?"

"_We have no idea._"

Arcee sighed.

_It's all over, _she admitted, _the Earth's took too much of our shit and now it's kicking us off its surface. About time too…_

She looked out to the sky and trees, all flying by.

_But… I'll miss it. It's pretty in its own sort of way. And… full of wonder…_

_But I'll never fit in here. The alien. The outcast. The one whose already exiled… and to be exiled again, if the course is set—_

Something blinked in the sky. It flashed, fast and quick.

_What in Primus's name was that?_

"Ratchet, something… I think something's just entered Earth's atmosphere."

"_Yeah… yeah, I've got it on screen. Damn, Arcee, it's big…_"

And that's when Arcee saw it.

Burning and tearing, a hulking shape sped through the sky in the direction of Arcee's destination.

What's more, she recognised it.

_That's… that's a cybertronian ship!_

She burned nitro and roared down the highway.

* * *

><p>He stared from atop the pinnacle. To the passers-by below, he was just another bird, silhouetted against the midday sun, drinking in the landscape.<p>

_I've never seen a hive so low…_

Atop the monument, Laserbeak listened in.

"_So we are decided?_"

Callahan coughed.

"_We are decided._"

Laserbeak idly scratched a claw.

_Too easy. They did not even sweep the room for bugs after I had left. Master, wherever you are now, you'd no doubt be proud of what I'm accomplishing._

Something flickered in the sky. The vulture craned its neck up.

A lumbering cybertronian cargo-ship plummeted through the sky, headed for the outskirts of Washington D.C. Laserbeak watched it go with keen interest.

Finally, it smashed into the ground, throwing up a huge amount of dirt and spreading a shockwave that seemed to tilt the Monument itself. Many people down below screamed, believing the Decepticons returned.

_Fools._

Laserbeak laboured up from the spire, while summoning the rest of the menagerie.

_The early bird…_

* * *

><p>"Why is everyone heading to Washington?" Stacy asked.<p>

The three of them sat in the confined and uncomfortable space aboard a C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft. Poorly constructed chairs had been bolted to the floor so that the three kids and the last remnants of Kublak Han's HARP could return home.

"Where else would you begin a counter-strike?" Ryder asked. "Although I can't see how they'll do it…"

Marcus sat to the side, in silence. Stacy looked at him, a sad frown on her face.

Ryder looked at them both and rolled unseen eyes behind the darkened glasses. "Get over yourself kid. Now's the time to suck up and get ready for the war proper."

"'War proper?'" Stacy echoed. "What, the destruction of Kublak Han and the collapsing of a whole mountain doesn't count?"

"No. It doesn't. What's going to happen will kick all the preceding battles right out the window."

"_Ladies and gentlemen, I'm glad to inform you all that we will be coming into land shortly…_" a tanoy announced.

"It was getting a bit cramped anyway," Ryder murmured. "I'm tempted to jump out of this coffin and hope to survive the landing—"

That's when three Seekers passed overhead. And when Skyrender, in a fit of wanton destruction, leaned inwards and slashed a wing with his scythe.

As the passengers screamed, the plane headed for Earth at a terminal speed.

* * *

><p>Burning wreckage decorated the landscape. The crashed ship had cut straight through a forest, uprooting trees and burning through entire clearings.<p>

Arcee rolled over mud and burnt soil. He wheels crunched over ash and soot as the sky began to turn crimson.

"Looks like this thing went on quite the journey," she whispered as she went ever so closer to the resting area of the new arrival.

_I doubt anyone would survive this crash…_

_What the hell are the Decepticons up to?_

She drove over a rise and saw the wrecked vessel. It had been completely totalled and smashed, having split into two different parts after its final resting. She cautiously approached.

_It could be a bomb… or an entire detachment of troops._

She saw someone crawl out of a piece of debris.

…_Or it could be a simple accident._

She transformed and cocked a rifle. It was time to put this 'con out of its misery.

She approached the injured cybertronian, her feet scraping through the detritus and ash. The injured alien had stopped moving, resting in the shade.

But as she got closer, she began to recognise him.

…_I-It… it can't be…_

Her pace increased.

Her steps became faster.

A groan left the mouth of the injured transformer.

Arcee began to run.

She leant over the crewmember of the ship and recognised his face.

"PROWL!" she cried, as energon leaked from his chest through her fingers. He coughed up some more and his optics turned on.

The former Autobot soldier had been one of the few to stay behind on Cybertron. Although he had left on the Ark with most of the Autobot soldiers, it hadn't been long before he had realised that the remaining Autobots on their planet wouldn't survive. He had left while on their voyage and returned to lead the rebellion. That had been many, _many _cycles ago; there was no possible way he could be here.

"A-Arcee…" Prowl coughed, energon leaking from many wounds sustained in the crash. "I-It's… it's good… to see… a friendly face… I thought… they had all… gone…"

"Shush, don't try to speak—"

"Shut up," the other Autobot muttered gruffly. "Tell… tell O-Optimus… that… sou… sound… that they are coming."

Arcee realised he wasn't going to make it.

"Who's coming? More Decepticons?"

"N-No… Ramjet… that little bastard… I was such a… a fool… they're coming…"

"Who's Ramjet?" Arcee asked desperately.

Several things thudded into the ground behind her. She didn't tear her optics from Prowl.

"Speak… speak to Optimus… they're all coming… coming to consume this world… and all who care… for freedom… they're no better… no better than Megatron and all the rest… angels… heh, how alien… but not angels… not angels… not gods… not gods… devils… DEVILS!"

He slipped into stasis lock.

"Have a look at this my little shits; a little lady all out alone, as night falls on this quaint little scene."

Arcee turned around, blaster in one hand, blade in the other.

Three Seekers faced off against her. Although she didn't recognise two of them, the one whose voice-box she'd ripped out was staring at her with manic hatred.

"Little fucking ladies shouldn't be out at night," Skyrender hissed, clutching his wicked scythe in both hands. "Only those who are fucking dead or who are ready to make other fuckers dead should be out at night…"

"You won't touch him, creep," Arcee said, resolute, readying her weapons.

Overcast drew a spear off his back, while Crashdive clutched his scimitar. The red sun reflected off the scythe's keen edge.

"Little lady's lost like a fucking sheep," Skyrender continued gleefully as the three of them began to circle her. "And I'm the motherfucking shepherd, tending to his motherfucking flock."

"You really need to shut up," Arcee hissed as she stepped back atop Prowl, protecting him like a new-born.

"You know what they say about red skies and shepherds, little sheep," Skyrender chuckled. "Red sky at morning, shepherd's warning…

Crashdive began stalking towards her. Overcast leapt atop one half of the ship. Arcee felt a twang of fear.

"Red sky at night…"

Skyrender leapt at her, scythe swinging, optics ablaze with insanity.

"_SHEPHERD'S DELIGHT!_"


	37. The Mother of All Monsters Part 2

She awoke to darkness and suffocation.

Nothing but darkness. Nothing but emptiness. She felt as if she was flying, or blind, or a combination of the two, her mind buzzed, no air NO AIR NO AIR BLIND BLIND—

"I'd advise you to calm down," a monster snarled.

Panic gripped her. She couldn't feel her arm… nor feel the beat of her own heart.

"Here's a little something, my poor little creature," the monster continued in a nasal voice and she felt her entire body relax, her mind as well, as if a light had been turned off.

She tried to scream, but found she had no mouth.

"You can't talk unless I allow you to," the same voice chuckled. "Which I won't."

A light flickered on.

"I haven't touched this in ages," the hulking beast muttered. "You see, we have perfect vision in the dark… but I believe you already knew that."

Her eyes, although bleary, managed to focus on the light.

And the creature that stood over it.

"I don't see what Crashdive saw in you," Flatline muttered with a savage grin. "All I see is a defenceless little insect…"

Kaminari realised she was strapped down to a table. Whatever Flatline had injected her with, it seemed to dull both her shock and her fear. Almost content, she turned to look at the right arm which had been horribly removed…

It was there. But not as it should have been.

"He may be silent, but that 'con has plans. So I made some… modifications to your mutilated form."

Her arm had been replaced by one made of metal. It wasn't yet finished, with bits of circuitry and wires visible from the outside. The fingers were cruel and jagged, more claw-like than anything found on a human, while hot titanium muscles pumped with what she hoped was blood.

"Although I was reluctant at first to acquiesce to Crashdive's demands, changing that arm to fit your biological needs has proved most challenging," Flatline continued, his single optic gazing on her limp form. "Entertainingly challenging… a refresher from the amount of injured I get in here." He indicated to her left.

Kaminari turned her head and saw another Decepticon lying on an operating table. This one was unconscious and, from her distant, drugged memory, was named Fracture.

"She went up against Barricade again," Flatline sighed. "She's been in cahoots with Mindwipe for a while, for whatever reason…"

"W-What's going on?" Kaminari finally managed, wondering why she could breathe in space.

Flatline turned his menacing eye on her. She shivered as he inspected her flesh, before bending over and raising her chin with the end of a claw. He stared into her face, a twisted grin appearing.

"Oh, my poor, pathetic little insect," Flatline chuckled. "You don't realise it yet, do you? Don't worry, you will in time. You'll learn, up here, that when you enter the dark side of the moon, you'll never escape.

"Welcome to our side."

* * *

><p><span>Episode 33: The Mother of All Monsters (Part 2)<span>

_Now there's a cloud over Heaven  
>And a pain out of Paradise<br>In your corner of the world  
>Turn your back on the children<br>Does it feel like it's colder?  
>In your corner of the world…<em>

—**Lock Up The Wolves**

* * *

><p>Arcee fell back into the mud, crying out as the scythe slashed down. She raised her small blade, which barely managed to deflect the blow, but sent the blade spinning out into the dark. Skyrender grinned as she scrambled through the mud, trying to get away. The young and fresh Seeker chased after her, whooping, swinging his scythe like a madman. Arcee kept backing away, using her smaller size and quick legs to keep out of reach of his weapon. Meanwhile, Crashdive and Overcast began inspecting the wreckage.<p>

_Bastards… Prowl…_

"What a stupid weapon," she managed to hiss as the scythe missed her again.

Skyrender scowled. "Little sheep should shut the fuck up."

"A sickle would be much more suited to your type of fighting style," Arcee stalled, her arm changing into a gun. "Not that lumbering piece of shit."

Skyrender brought the scythe down, stabbing nothing but ground. Arcee saw her chance.

"However, you'd be able to beat anyone at range with that thing," she shouted, before charging him. "But up close…!"

She shot him in the chest as she closed in, dodging over a clumsy swipe, and punching him in the gut.

"BITCH!" the Seeker roared as he tried to turn his weapon on her. But thanks to the dimensions of the scythe, he couldn't hit her due to how close she was.

"First, the legs," she muttered. Although outsized and outgunned, Arcee had years of combat experience at taking down larger Decepticons. She shot him in the back of both legs, forcing him to his knees.

"Next, the head," she whispered, leaping onto his shoulders and pointing her weapon downwards at his head—

A missile exploded against her and she was thrown off Skyrender into the mud. She cried out, pain and fire flaring through her.

"You in trouble, kid?" Overcast asked.

Skyrender muttered a curse and lifted himself out of the mud on wobbly legs. He gripped his scythe firmly and fixed murderous eyes on Arcee's defenceless form.

"Little whore thinks she can beat a Seeker?" he grumbled as he descended on her. "Let's see you beat me without a face."

Arcee looked up to see the young Decepticon standing over her, scythe raised.

_No… I'm… sorry…_

Skyrender grinned.

A guttural cry sounded through the night. Skyrender turned to see the commotion. Arcee looked as well.

Optimus Prime had smashed into Overcast in his truck form, sending the Seeker veteran sprawling. Transforming, the leader of the Autobots bore down on the Decepticon, an axe and a sword at the ready.

"Help me, guys!" Overcast cried out in panic as he raised a mace to block Optimus's attack.

Skyrender obviously thought discretion was the better part of valour. Knowing he didn't stand a chance against the Prime, he shot into the air and transformed, heading straight for the nearest atmosphere. Although Crashdive wasn't as cowardly as his Decepticon acquaintance, he stepped back a bit, dragging an unconscious Prowl with him.

Overcast looked up at the vengeful Prime.

"Oh shit."

Optimus snapped the mace in half with an axe-blow, before driving the point of his sword through Overcast's arms, which had been moved to protect himself, before piercing the Seeker's chest and stabbing straight through his spark.

Overcast gave a little gasp of pain, before his optics blacked out and he slumped to his knees.

Optimus drew his sword out, allowing the Decepticon's corpse to fall into the mud.

From three-against-one, it had become one-against-two.

Crashdive stared at Optimus, unflinching in the wake of his most recent kill.

"Optimus!" Arcee called as she got shakily to her feet. "He has Prowl!"

Optimus stared at the unconscious cybertronian in confusion. His optics suddenly lit up in shock and realisation.

"I… I see," he uttered. He pointed his axe at Crashdive. "Let him go!" Optimus ordered.

Crashdive cocked a curious head to one side. He then slowly turned to look at his captive. He grinned.

Slowly, meticulously, he withdrew the huge scimitar from his back.

"Don't do anything stupid," Optimus commanded, his voice carrying through the dusk. "Leave him and we'll let you escape—"

Crashdive pushed Prowl in front of him, the Autobot dropping to his knees, still unaware of his surroundings.

Taking a step back, Crashdive then stabbed Prowl straight through the chest. The Autobot's corpse collapsed.

"NO!" Optimus roared, charging in, swinging his weapons. Arcee followed, limping, but enraged.

Crashdive stepped a few paces back, allowing Optimus to get closer.

"Be careful!" Arcee cried. "He's Dangerous!"

With a move as quick as lightning, Crashdive swiped his scimitar up and knocked the axe out of Optimus's grasp, sending it flying into the distance. The Prime responded by meeting sword with sword as the two titanic creatures fought a lethal duel.

Arcee realised she'd only be in the way if she got closer, so she kept her eyes on the treeline—

"Oh scrap," she whispered in horror.

Great beasts descended from the trees as a full moon shone down upon them all. Savage teeth and animal eyes bore down on the remaining Autobots.

"No…"

Rumble bellowed and charged her as Ravage and Buzzsaw slunk towards Optimus.

From the trees, Ratbat waited and watched.

* * *

><p>"I-Is… is everyone okay?"<p>

The voice was the only sound Marcus heard. It penetrated into the depths of his racked subconscious, tearing through the utter darkness to make sense within his tortured brain.

He opened bleary eyes, pain rippling through him.

People were moaning and shuffling throughout the crashed plane. The co-pilot was the one who had spoken, having appeared from the front of the plane. Marcus looked at his hands and saw they were covered in blood.

"We've crash-landed a few miles from Washington," the co-pilot announced. "Emergency services are no doubt on their way, but until then is there anyone with medical experience here?"

The HARP medics raised shaky hands, while Ryder picked himself up and stretched.

"Well, that was an unforeseeable detour," he muttered. "At least the pilot knew what he was doing."

Marcus checked his body for the wounds that bloodied his hands, but didn't find them.

Then he saw Stacy.

Her eyes were closed and blood was leaking from her head.

"STACY!"

"Quiet down," Ryder sighed. "Just wrap a couple of bandages around that noggin of hers. It's tougher than lead."

Marcus found himself getting angry as he did as instructed.

"And what about you?" he spat. "What are you going to do to help? Absolutely fucking nothing! Mr Cool Guy, smoking his way through every situation, never giving a rat's arse to help anyone but himself! You're just like Sixshot! Nothing more than your common jerk of an ASSHOLE!"

Behind the shades, Ryder narrowed his eyes.

"Call me what you want, but don't compare me to Sixshot. Don't. Trust is a delicate thing, Marcus; you show too much of it, you'll lose it. You show too little, you'll never get any. I won't help people because that would teach people to trust me; you really shouldn't. I'm the wild card. So, Marcus, I think I'll take leave of you two for now. Until we meet again."

He then turned and left the crashed plane. Marcus, dumbfounded, stared after him.

And Ryder left.

* * *

><p>"Sherpa?"<p>

"Yes, sir."

"If your child was in danger, how far would you go to try and save her?"

"…Honestly, sir?"

"Honestly."

"As far as possible. There's nothing more precious in this world than a child of one's own."

Callahan nodded, although he felt destroyed inside. He knew what he had to do.

"Sherpa?"

The Secret Service bodyguard repeated; "Yes, sir."

Callahan scrawled something on a note. With Mason and Cole gone, there was no need to sugar-coat it.

He tore the note from a pad and held it up. It read;

I BELIEVE THE ROOM IS BUGGED. THE DECEPTICONS HAVE MY DAUGHTER AND THEY'RE BLACKMAILING ME TO DESTROY THE AUTOBOTS.

If Sherpa was surprised, he hid it well behind his shades.

Another quickly scribbled note read;

THEY'RE NOT GETTING SHIT. THE VICE-PRESIDENT'S IN THEIR POCKET AND WHO KNOWS ELSE; YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I CAN TRUST. FIND MY DAUGHTER AND KILL WHOEVER'S HOLDING HER.

Sherpa nodded and, without a hint of hesitation, headed for the door to complete his mission.

But Callahan wasn't just going to let others do the work for him. He knew there was one thing he could do in his own home.

Clear out the squatters.

He contacted his secretary through his phone.

"Barbara? Bring in the Vice-President. And make sure that there are some Secret Service outside the office."

* * *

><p>Optimus roared as lasers tore through his arm. He faced off against three opponents and was beginning to realise that he couldn't win.<p>

Meanwhile, Arcee fled from Rumble. She twisted through the wreckage, leaping through destroyed decks, dodging past devastated trees. Rumble smashed through them all, uncaring in what he destroyed, intent on chasing down Arcee and crushing her to pieces beneath his pounding feet.

Arcee realised that she would never outrun the rhino; he was just too quick and too strong.

"Primus, watch over me," she whispered, before turning to meet her fate.

Seeing her halt, Rumble picked up speed. He bent his head down, sharp horns ready to skewer her like dead meat.

At the last second before impact, Arcee leapt into the air, allowing Rumble to charge beneath her, before dropping to land on his back. Rumble roared and bucked, trying to throw the clingy Autobot from his back, but Arcee held on, resolute, her blaster at the ready.

Realising her plan, Ratbat dropped from his tree and glided towards them, letting out a deafening shriek. Arcee cried out as her audio receptors were fried, before turning painfully to the job at hand. Pointing the blaster down at the top of Rumble's head, Arcee fired two shots, splitting apart the armour but failing to penetrate.

"DIE DAMN YOU!" Arcee cried as Ratbat bore down on her and Rumble bucked as hard as he could.

At the last second before Ratbat's talons could rend her, Arcee leapt from Rumble's back to smack into the mud for the umpteenth time that day.

Rumble continued to buck blindly, oblivious in his rage, but Ratbat turned and shot straight for Arcee, screeching as he did so.

"Come on then, you flying shit," Arcee hissed, readying her blaster.

Ratbat descended upon her, but at the last moment flew upwards, straight over the Autobot. Arcee turned, furious.

"COME BACK HERE!" she roared after the beast.

But she heard a low grumble behind her. Realisation gripped her.

Rumble charged.

Arcee ran, scanning the ground as she did so. She was running out of energy and knew the killing blow would arrive soon for one of them. As Rumble came in close, she saw what she was looking for.

Her serrated blade stuck out of the mud, gleaming in the moonlight.

She ran towards it, crying out in pain for her injuries, Rumble almost breathing down her neck.

She grasped the blade in one hand just as Rumble smashed into her.

His horns penetrated her back, spearing her into the air. She screamed as she was lifted up, up into air. She twisted as she began to fall, looking down at what awaited her.

Rumble looked up, his horns glistening with pure malice.

Her pain-wracked screams turning into fury-filled roars, she fell like a lightning bolt, her blade carving through the wind itself. Rumble saw it coming, far too late.

The sword pierced the weakened armour of Rumble's head, the blade cutting straight through his brain and mouth, out the other side. Arcee smashed into the ground, spent and broken.

Slowly, almost mournfully, Rumble keeled over onto his side, dead.

Arcee tried to sit up, knowing that Ratbat's finishing move would be next, and she wouldn't go down without a fight.

But the resultant blow never came. Arcee looked around, looking for the winged fiend, but not seeing it.

She turned her head to Optimus's battle.

Ravage, the cat-like beast of Soundwave's retinue, was dead. Optimus had crushed him with a well-planned footfall, his shattered corpse all over the place. Although he had been brought back to life before, he wouldn't again.

But the fight was not going Optimus's way. Buzzsaw was nailing hit-and-run attacks on Optimus's head while Crashdive beat him back with his huge sword. Along the way, Optimus had reclaimed his axe, but it was proving useless against Crashdive's relentless assault.

But there was nothing left she could do.

_Optimus… please… finish him…_

She slipped into stasis lock, hoping she wouldn't end up like Prowl.

* * *

><p>"Skywarp was here," Thundercracker uttered. "He always leaves that stinking trail of bluorescent vapours. That idiot really needs to clear out his vents."<p>

Starscream studied the Martian rocks. His cunning optics appraised the situation and the wreckage of days long ago.

_Skywarp wasn't the only one here… he and the hatchlings weren't alone…_

"Contact Overcast," Starscream ordered. "I want him and that little runt he goes around with to comb this area. I've had enough nostalgia for one day."

As Thundercracker made the call, Starscream inspected some of the wreckage and rubble of the long ago past.

_Times were simpler then. Back when traitors acted out of nothing but ideals._

_Now? Now the very face of war has changed. No more grand battles on global scales… instead it's nothing more than a game in the shadows and everyone's a mere player in this game…_

"I can't raise him," Thundercracker called. "Wherever he is, he's not on the moon."

_I told him to wait there! _Starscream fumed inwardly. "Pathetic! What about Crashdive?"

Thundercracker looked at his boss with a rather uncertain look; in-between a glance that asked his commander how he expected to talk to a mute and a glance that wouldn't have him executed for insubordination.

"Oh yeah…" Starscream muttered, making a mental note to hit himself later.

The two oldest Seekers stared up at the sun.

"This is getting old…" the commander said. "Skywarp and the hatchlings are gone for good, probably with Soundwave unless he's dead. Our own soldiers are disappearing left and right… and you."

"Me sir?" Thundercracker asked, surprised.

"Yes, you. The only Decepticon who's actually loyal. Any of the grunts would flee if they felt like it, Shockwave I wouldn't trust with a spoon and Megatron is the biggest hypocrite in the galaxy."

Thundercracker pondered for a second. "Barricade, sir."

"What?"

"Barricade is loyal too. Just not to you."

Starscream roared and fired a missile into the Martian horizon. It spun wildly through the air for a few seconds, the Decepticons watching it go, before it smashed into the ground with a trembling explosion.

"TWO DECEPTICONS!" Starscream roared at no-one in particular. "JUST TWO IN THE ENTIRE GALAXY! DO THE AUTOBOTS HAVE THIS KIND OF FOOLISHNESS? DO THE HUMANS? WHY US? WHY IS IT US THAT ARE SADDLED WITH THE BLIND, PSYCHOTIC, FOOLISH, STUPID AND TREACHEROUS? **WHY?**"

He sat down in the dust, utterly demoralised.

"I believed in something once," he muttered. "Something great and unified. I was foolish and arrogant back then, but I saw a Cybertron united under that Allspark. I guess… I guess I was greedy like all the rest, hungry for power and control… now? Now I just wish to see my home again. To see Cybertron and its sun…

"I think that might have been what Dreadwing was going for all along. He wanted a real Cybertron with a real Allspark. Not some cheap imitation. In the end, deep down, I think he did what he did for others, not himself. And I… I should have seen that…"

Thundercracker grunted. Starscream looked up.

"Sir, with all due respect," the lieutenant said. "You're an idiot."

Starscream narrowed his optics.

"Dreadwing tried to grasp power when he was nothing more than a soldier. He failed due to one thing; himself. You can doubt yourself or your actions, but what's done is done. He did what he had to do… and you did what you had to do. You might believe in struggle, or in unity, or in Cybertron or whatever you wish, but one thing remains constant; the strongest, the smartest and, above all, the most loyal will always succeed. I have succeeded so far under you, succeeded in surviving the early stages of the war, succeeded in surviving Dreadwing's rebellion, succeeded in avoiding death where everyone else failed, succeeded in _resurrecting _you all and have succeeded in making it this far. You can have ambition, you can have power, you can have vision; but I've said it before and I'll say it again; even the common soldier can succeed.

"And, to prove it to you once and for all, _I will be the one to kill __Optimus Prime_._ And I will succeed._"

* * *

><p>Vice-President of the United States Thomas Chaplow pushed open the door to the Oval Office, walking by the two Secret Service bodyguards behind him. Callahan sat at the desk, chin resting on hands, elbows resting on wood. Chaplow squinted as he pushed the door shut.<p>

"You wanted to see me, Edward?"

Callahan said nothing, content to simply stare his subordinate out. Chaplow blinked nervously.

"Anything wrong, sir?" Chaplow added.

"When did the Decepticons buy you?"

_So Laserbeak did tell him… hmph._

"A while back," the Vice-President replied with a small smile. "Sorry, Ed, nothing personal; just business."

"How could you betray our own country, Tom?" Callahan asked, disappointment written all over his face. "How could you betray the very people themselves?"

"That's the thing, Ed, you always thought the people in this land were _American _people. I see it in a different way," Chaplow announced. "Once the Decepticons are in charge, borders won't matter anymore; it won't just be America ruled by one man… it'll be the whole world. We will all be unified under a common banner, to help shepherd the people into the new age."

Callahan narrowed his eyes. "At the price of my daughter?"

"No; at the price of the Autobots. Their lives don't outweigh the lives of the people. They don't even outweigh the life of your kin."

There was a tense silence.

"I agree," Callahan said at last. "But, in the end, no life is indispensable, save the one that was always meant to be indispensable; mine."

Chaplow raised his eyebrows. "No need to be so dramatic; you don't have the guts for suicide and, besides, that would put _me _in charge. In reality, all you have left is that choice; your only child, or the aliens."

Edward nodded slowly, before standing and opening a drawer in his desk. "You're right; I must go with either option A or option B…"

He drew a gun out of the drawer and pointed it at Chaplow's chest.

"But, as I said, no life is indispensable… except maybe yours and most definitely mine. So I choose option C."

Chaplow's eyes widened. "You… you idiot; if you kill me, the Decepticons will most certainly kill Cassandra!"

"I doubt it; as long as I actually kill the Autobots, I doubt they'll miss just another _insect_."

Chaplow began to sweat. He realised he was on thin ice.

"Do you think I'm really the only agent in the White House?" he fearfully asked. "You kill me, another weed grows."

"Let them grow; you'll be the one rotting in the compost."

Chaplow finally gave in. "What do you want?"

"Just one thing; confirmation that my daughter is really alive. There wasn't a sign of a struggle anywhere near here; so my daughter must have been tricked into being taken. The only one I taught her to fully trust outside of the family was you… you of all people. You were the one who kidnapped her. Tell me where she is and I won't touch a hair on your head."

Chaplow stared at the gun. He stared at Callahan. There was no remorse behind the President's eyes.

"A warehouse on the Potomac, down in the south; B-17834. She's alive and in good health; but I know this room is bugged so if you tell anyone, Laserbeak will break her pretty little neck. You now have no choice but to kill the Autobots. Stick true to your word and let me go."

Callahan considered this for a second. He reached for the phone on his desk.

"Sherpa, did you get all that?"

"_Yes sir. I'll be there in five._"

The phone disconnected.

Chaplow stared at Callahan, shocked.

"You left me with an impossible choice; I would never kill the ones who have saved our lives so many times and I would never allow any one close to me to die. So this is option C."

He tossed the gun to Chaplow, who caught it in surprise.

"But, despite that, I failed to make the choice. You're right; I may have doomed my daughter to die or I may have doomed many others. For that, I don't deserve to be President."

Callahan drew a second gun out of his jacket.

"But, then again, neither do you."

Without a second's hesitation, Callahan turned the gun on himself and shot himself through the chest.

The bang echoed around the small room, startling Chaplow, who was too shocked to do anything but turn to stone. He stared, stunned.

The Secret Service bodyguards who had been outside the office burst in, guns drawn.

They saw their President, bleeding to death on the floor.

And they saw Thomas Chaplow with a gun.

"No, it's not—!"

But they had been trained to neutralise threats as quickly and efficiently as possible, not to facilitate pleas for reason. Several more shots rang out through the White House.

As Chaplow's corpse his the carpet, Edward Callahan whispered his final words;

"Denise… Cassie… I'll watch… I'll see…"

And as Laserbeak raced Sherpa to B-17834, the leader of the Free World bled to death.


	38. The Mother of All Monsters Part 3

NAILED IT

Thank you to **Mytical-Myst-Devil, Answerthecall **and **Megan666** for reviewing!

* * *

><p>"<em>And what is this?"<em>

"_The humans call it Chess."_

"_Humans? They've grown on you, my lord. They are no more than insects."_

"_Even insects have subspecies. The humans have their own."_

"_They must be too small to see."_

"_Maybe. Pawn to E4."_

_Ramjet studied the board. His optics stared hard._

"_I barely know the rules. I will not beat you."_

"_Humour me."_

"_You don't really believe in what we're doing, do you? Pawn to D5."_

"_Does that even matter? Bishop to E2."_

"_Yes, my lord, it does. Pawn takes pawn."_

"_Now look here, Ramjet; one pawn faces down the entire of my army. One solitary, common soldier faces my entire force of soldiers, knights, rooks and even the king himself."_

"_He's doomed to die, my lord."_

"_Maybe not. Charge with him. Bishop to H5."_

"_As I'm not allowed to disobey the orders of a superior," Ramjet sneered. "Pawn to E3. You need to move only one pawn to kill him."_

"_Queen to F3. Charge."_

_Ramjet stared at his lord, angry. "This is a stupid and pointless game. Why must they move in regimented order, set moves? Although it might increase intelligence, it does nothing to help strategic planning or tactical manoeuvring! It is pointless!"_

"_Charge."_

"_But of course, my lord has a metaphorical allegory to teach me. Pawn to E2."_

"_Your pawn now stares down my king. The soldier and the king are about to duel."_

"_Duel? What nonsense is this? Unless your king plans on taking it, I have nothing to say to you."_

"_Then I shall finish this. Queen to F7. The pawn is dead. Checkmate."_

_Ramjet stared at the board for a second._

"_N-No it isn't! My king can—"_

"_It is checkmate, but explain to me how it isn't."_

"_My king can move to D7!"_

"_Why can he move there?"_

"_B-Because… because my pawn moved…"_

"_Exactly. Checkmate."_

"_My lord, whatever you're trying to teach me here, I'm lost," Ramjet snarled._

_His lord pointed to the pawn that stared down his king._

"_It is checkmate for me. It is your turn and the king is set squarely in the sights of the pawn. Take the king and you win. It is checkmate."_

_Ramjet struggled to understand. "B-But… that's illegal. Pawns can only attack—"_

"_Pawns attack wherever you order them to attack," his lord replied. "Otherwise, they aren't your pawns."_

"_But it's against the rules of the game!"_

"_The true game has no rules. The only rules we follow are the ones we make ourselves. Take the king."_

"_B-But…"_

"_Take the king. Stop following the rules of Chess and follow the rules of the game."_

_Ramjet stared blankly. And then he got it._

"_But isn't this cheating?"_

"_Since when has following rules been cheating?"_

"_Surely both players must be content with the new rule…"_

"_Ah. Now why would you reveal to your opponent the new rule?"_

_Ramjet grinned an ugly grin. "Heheh… I see now."_

"_But just remember, Ramjet; even the soldier can kill the king."_

"_Yes… pawn to E1. The king is captured."_

_Ramjet flicked the little chess piece into the air and caught it. He stared at it._

"_Welcome to our side."_

* * *

><p><span>Episode 34: The Mother of All Monsters (Part 3)<span>

_They're screaming: "Sanctuary!"  
>They're screaming at you...<em>

**Lock Up The Wolves**

* * *

><p>The showdown was about to begin.<p>

Two pawns would enter the warehouse, to fight over a queen.

She sobbed, the tears running down the gag in her mouth, streaming off her chin. She had given up on rescue long ago. For now, she waited for when the creatures would return.

A flap of metal wings echoed around the warehouse. She flinched.

And then a different sound. The sound of a door slowly grinding open. She did not open her eyes, dared not. She would not see what new horror would be before her.

"I know you're in here," a voice, relatively human, announced.

She looked up, hope flickering in her eyes.

She saw a boy, older than her, by the door.

He wore a duster, rifle in hand. He stared around the room with hidden eyes.

Another flap of wings.

She screamed through her gag as rending talons took her skull. Something heavy and malevolent perched on her head, chuckling. The boy aimed the rifle, as long as him.

"You," Laserbeak snarled and Cassandra relieved herself in pure terror. "I was not expecting you."

"Me," Ryder answered, focused entirely on the Decepticon across from him. "And I think this is the last time I ever want to see you, birdbrain."

"'Birdbrain'?" Laserbeak laughed. "Surely, child, you can do better than that."

"The best I can do is tear you apart, right now," Ryder replied. "This was your plan? To simply kidnap the President's daughter and force his hand; how uninspired."

"The simplest plans work best," Laserbeak muttered. "Although, I'm afraid it's gone rather awry here…"

"So you have no need to hurt her; release the girl, Laserbeak. I'll let you live so that we can duke it out later. But not with the lives on the line."

Laserbeak cackled, a hideous, haughty sound. "So what? I'm to return, becoming your nemesis as we duel for the power and the glory? You are a dead man. Tell me, how can a dead man be my nemesis?"

"The same way you're one dead pigeon."

"No. Simply no," Laserbeak replied nasally. "I bet all of my masters' resources on this gambit and I underestimated the human at the top. With so much at stake, I assumed he would crack. I was wrong. But because of what he's done, his life won't be the only one ending today."

The talons gripped. Cassandra's muffled screams seemed to resound off the steel walls.

Then a footfall echoed as well.

Immediately, Laserbeak shot into the air as several bullets whizzed past him. Ryder fired, but the Decepticon was too quick, spinning into the air in a falling ballet. Ryder ducked behind some barrels as Laserbeak turned his sights on the intruder.

Sherpa and the Decepticon stared each other down. The element of surprise was lost. It was down to who drew first.

Sherpa had been a former Delta Force sergeant for two years and had taken a tour with the Green Berets. He was a marksman with any weapon that weighed less than a hundred pounds and a pretty good shot with anything heavier. He had killed over fourteen men in the call of duty, travelled across half the world, selected for the Secret Service and had been successful in the protection of three consecutive Presidents, without voting for any one of them. In his spare time, he listened to opera.

In his Glock 17 were four rounds of byrillium-plated, feron-coated, armour-piercing rounds.

Laserbeak had been a former aerial predator on Cybertron's food chain, before the high-ranking Decepticon Soundwave had found him and in his experiments, successfully turned the avian monster fully sentient. He had killed over ten Autobots, twenty-five cybertronian civilians and nineteen humans since his 'rebirth', travelled across half the galaxy and been successful in the following of every order his master had given him. In his spare time, he dreamed of killing.

In his mouth, thirty-two teeth that could chew on diamond and a 32mm cannon loaded with fifty automatic rounds that could punch through solid steel. In his tail was a 40mm cannon loaded with sixty-five automatic rounds that could dent solid lead. His wings could cut straight through cybertronian armour and it had done many times before. Sharp spikes protruded from the tail as well.

There could have only been one outcome to the showdown.

Sherpa raised the gun and fired all four rounds. Laserbeak opened his mouth wide and prepared both of his guns. Due to the Decepticon's erratic manoeuvring, Sherpa missed three of his shots. The fourth punched through a wing, spattering some energon onto the floor.

Then it was Laserbeak's turn.

Sixteen huge rounds tore Sherpa to pieces. His left arm was blown clear off and his bullet-racked body was thrown back against several crates. He fell to the ground, blood leaking all over the floor. Cassandra was screaming as loud as she could, trying to wrench herself from the chair she was bound to.

Laserbeak almost plunged into the ground as well, but managed to wrench back onto Cassandra's head. Both of them roared with pain.

Ryder came back out of his cover, rifle and machine-gun now pointed at one another.

"STAY BACK!" Laserbeak shrieked, his mouth cannon aimed at Ryder, while his deadly tail curled around Cassandra's neck.

"Dude, just give it up," Ryder sighed. "It's over. Your little plan failed. Retreat to your evil lair and plan again. You can always return. That's what you guys do. You get beaten one week, you return the next. Hell, you've been doing it ever since you guys all came back."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Laserbeak yelled. "This is it! There's nothing left for me out there! My master is dead, his last plan my last act! The other Decepticons couldn't care less about me! All that is now and all that's to come is this slab of a building! MY LIFE WILL END HERE!"

Ryder fingered the trigger, not quite as cool as he appeared. "What are you, an idiot? Don't throw away your life in some bullshit kidnapping gig. Get out."

"AND GO WHERE? WHERE? TELL ME THIS, HUMAN, WHERE SHOULD ONE LIKE ME GO?"

Ryder nervously stroked the trigger. "Wherever you want. There's a whole universe out there. Explore 'til your spark stops. Life is nothing if not experiences. What kind of last experience is this? To die, alone and foolish, in some human hive, waxing an eulogy about how you miss your master?"

The two of them stared each other down.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

"I can almost hear the hounds…" whispered Laserbeak. "And my shattered wing means I can no longer fly."

The tension rose. Cassandra still sobbed.

Ryder realised there was only one last card to pull. And it was certainly no ace.

"Surrender," he suggested. "If you surrendered and told us everything, you'd be spared, maybe even freed—"

"FUCK YOU!" Laserbeak screeched, finally snapping. "I WILL DECIDE WHEN I SHALL DIE, NOT YOU!"

A bullet shot out his mouth.

It smashed Ryder in the chest, bursting straight through one of his lungs. He was thrown to the floor, ELLIPSIS spinning into nowhere.

"FUCK YOU, PRETENTIOUS FOOL! DO YOU BELIEVE WE SHALL LOSE? DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT? THERE WILL BE NO RETRIBUTION! THERE WILL BE NO KARMA! ALL YOUR FRIENDS WILL PERISH, THE AUTOBOTS WILL DIE, YOUR WORLD WILL BE DEVOURED! AND I WILL DIE AND I WILL LAUGH AND LAUGH AND LAUGH AND LAUGH AND LAUGH!"

With a flick of his tail, he slit Cassandra Callahan's throat.

Blood flowed down her body as her life ebbed away. The stink of death filled the air.

And it was that stench that finally woke up Sherpa.

"COME THEN!" Laserbeak continued to shriek. "COME THEN YOU PUNY INSECTS! I'LL KILL—"

There was the sound of a gun being reloaded and cocked.

Laserbeak turned to look.

Woozy from his injuries and huge amounts of blood loss, Sherpa's will to avenge his employer and his employer's family bent the odds slightly in his favour. It helped that his target wasn't flying anymore.

Five bullets went nowhere. The sixth broke through the Decepticon's chest, bursting through his spine and spinning into the warehouse. The next three punched through Laserbeak's face, shattering his optics, exploding his skull and tearing his head to pieces.

The Decepticon fell from Cassandra's corpse, his impact on the floor echoing across the room.

"Birdbrain… eh?" Sherpa coughed up blood. "Not much… brain… from what… I saw…"

He slipped away.

And as the cops and ambulance members arrived, Ryder gasped for life on the warehouse floor, the only survivor of the showdown.

* * *

><p>"How can I breathe?" Kaminari asked, eyeing her escape routes.<p>

"Iron lungs," Flatline muttered with a grin. "Almost literally. But the point is, you don't need to breathe; your heart isn't beating."

Kaminari felt her chest. She staggered backwards in shock, feeling for the pulse in her wrist. It wasn't there.

"H-How is this possible…?"

"I did more than just swap your arm out," Flatline hissed, joyously recounting his surgery. "I converted your entire network of arteries, veins and capillaries into running energon instead of blood. Of course, the results would be highly unknown, yet I was determined to experiment. You also have a personal oxygen supply that activates every time you subconsciously attempt to breathe. That will allow you to speak, as long as you keep your vocabulary to three hundred words a day. I'll teach you how to replace the oxygen canister later."

"This… this is impossible!" Kaminari cried, feelings of terror impeding her brain. "You've turned me into one of you! I have a spark inside my chest!"

"Wrong," Flatline gleefully revealed. "Truth of the matter is, you still have a heart; just not one of flesh. It's a small piece of metal located in your right arm; therefore, if the arm is removed, you die. Due to the power of energon compared to blood, it only beats once per day. That beat must be done manually, by twisting the small nob on your shoulder—"

But Kaminari wasn't listening.

_I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!_

She raced towards the door. She knew she would never be able to outrun Flatline and simply didn't care; she had to do something to escape this nightmare.

_THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!_

She leapt through the huge doorway out of the infirmary, Flatline's laughs following her.

"Where are you going?" the Decepticon medic called after her. "Sri Lanka? Timbuktu? Mars? You can't escape, little one. You'll burn up in the Earth's atmosphere or get stepped on—"

And then the realisation hit Flatline.

"…Or use the Pillars."

He cursed and leapt out of his room.

"COME BACK HERE!"

* * *

><p>Crashdive broke Optimus's neck.<p>

He threw Prime's unconscious form into the mud as Buzzsaw lay dying in front of him. The Prime had hit the creature with a powerful sword blow, knocking the beast out of the air. Cruelly, Crashdive crushed it underfoot as he made his way to finish off Optimus.

Overhead, Ratbat circled, watching with keen eyes.

Crashdive stood over the forms of Optimus and Arcee, both in stasis lock. He grunted, considering their abysmal resistance.

He looked up at Ratbat. The creature screeched at him, warning him away from any more combat.

Crashdive shrugged and raised his scimitar to finish them off—

"HEY!" Mirage roared as he smashed two feet into Crashdive's face, sending the Decepticon spinning away, his scimitar flying into the treeline. Ratchet joined the other Autobot and the two of them faced off against Crashdive, weapon-less.

The Decepticon stood up and faced them both. Two blades appeared on Mirage's arms. A buzzsaw appeared in Ratchet's right hand.

"Leave now and we'll let you live," Mirage uttered.

Crashdive let out a low chuckle and withdrew two sickles from his hands.

"Mirage," Ratchet whispered.

"Yeah?"

"We don't stand a chance. I'm no fighter and this one clearly outmatches you."

"Watch me."

Mirage stepped forward, his blades swinging.

Crashdive grinned and charged forwards.

Sickles met swords and the two of them fought in a contest of strength. Mirage quickly realised how big a mistake this was, just as Crashdive headbutted him so savagely it forced him immediately into stasis lock.

As Mirage's limp body flopped into the mud, the Decepticon looked up at Ratchet, all alone.

"Oh scrap," the medic muttered.

Crashdive launched himself into the fray.

* * *

><p>Kaminari ran as fast as she could, aided greatly by the moon's lack of gravity. She leaped entire rooms, her small size allowing her to escape through crooks and crannies within the twisted shipwreck.<p>

"YOU FOOL!" Flatline continued to roar after her. She took no heed, breathing hard, even though her lungs never filled. She felt herself choking as she ran, before slipping under a small gap in a wall. Kaminari entered a pitch black room, forcing herself to stop. She stopped herself from breathing, shocked at her lack of panic.

She heard Flatline enter the room she had just exited.

He stopped. Kaminari flexed her fingers and claws with tension.

She heard him grumble, just before he left.

She let out some of her precious oxygen. Although it was unneeded, she realised it was a rather thoughtful gesture by the medic; if she had woken up, unable to breathe, she might have died of shock.

"This is most unusual," a voice chuckled.

Kaminari opened her eyes, fear gripping her yet again. But she couldn't see three feet in front of her in this darkness.

She remained silent.

"A little mouse crawling into the lair…" the voice muttered. "Uninvited, no less. What do you make of this, sir?"

Kaminari flinched at the word 'sir'. If it was Megatron, she was doomed—

"Intriguing," a sinister and deep voice uttered. Kaminari began to shake in pure terror.

_S-S-Sh-Shockwave!_

"To say the least," Astrotrain considered. "What are you from, human?"

Kaminari didn't reply.

"Speak or I'll squash you."

"A-America…"

"America? Don't think Soundwave's the only one who brushed up on your human culture. Your accent makes it a 64% chance that you are Japanese, 22% chance you are actually American and a 14% chance you are Korean. Truth or squish."

"I-I'm originally Japanese, but I live in America."

"And how does a Japanese-American immigrant come to tour our humble abode with a complete lack of proper space-faring equipment? You shouldn't even be able to speak."

Kaminari nervously raised her new arm. Astrotrain studied it from the shadows.

"…What has Flatline been up to…?"

"Who brought you here?" Shockwave finally asked, a low thunder rippling through the room.

"C-Crashdive."

Unseen to Kaminari's eyes, Astrotrain opened his mouth in surprise. Shockwave was silent.

"C-Can you point me towards the Pillars?" Kaminari asked cheekily, expecting death now at any second.

Astrotrain caught the joke. Shockwave didn't.

"It seems you do not like our company," Astrotrain chuckled with mirth. "I wonder why?"

Kaminari stayed silent.

Astrotrain considered something. He reached out a large, clawed hand. Kaminari flinched.

"Decision time," the Decepticon intoned. "Squish… or take my hand."

Kaminari shivered, but knew she had no choice. She stepped onto Astrotrain's hand, curling up into a ball to minimize any damage she might take.

Astrotrain took off, with unknown intentions.

* * *

><p>Ratchet fell back, barely escaping Crashdive's mortal strokes. The sickles seemed to cut the very air itself. Ratchet knew he didn't have long left.<p>

_Where's Bumblebee and Sixshot? We need them now more than ever!_

A sickle drew a wound across Ratchet's right arm, forcing him back into the mud. He stared up at the Seeker who had bested them all.

Crashdive grinned. He swung his sickles in slow, lazy arcs, building up Ratchet's death like some big event.

Ratchet shut off his optics.

The Decepticon roared in pain.

Ratchet's optics flickered on again. Crashdive was cradling his shoulder as bullet holes began to fill him.

All around the crash site were soldiers. Tanks and other armoured vehicles appeared everywhere, with rocket launchers and other assorted explosive weapons.

"Decepticon in the middle!" Major Fenway roared from atop a tank. "Surrender, immediately! Or face imminent destruction!"

Crashdive wrathfully stared around him, eyeing up the reinforcements arrayed against him. He calculated the odds he did not like.

Finally, he walked over to the mud where his scimitar had fallen and picked it up. Sheathing it on his back, he gave a little smile and raised his arms in the air.

He knelt on the mud.

There was silence.

"H-He surrendered?" Fenway asked, rather shocked. "That was… way too easy."

"Sir, I think we should execute this one," Epps suggested. "He's one of the few Decepticons who knows what he's doing—"

Suddenly, an almighty crash and ear-splitting din echoed around the crash site. Crashdive let forth a sonic boom, which deafened Ratchet and threw every soldier to the ground. Without a second's hesitation, he transformed and shot into the air.

There was silence in the pit.

Finally, Epps groaned and sat up. He looked around him, an entire company of HARP soldiers stunned.

"Goddamn," he muttered. "I thought only Thundercracker could pull that trick…"

Fenway got to his feet, stretching. "Whatever it was, let's just hope he's gone for good."

"Sir, I suggest we help bring the Autobots back to HARP Washington and have them debriefed. We need to work out what the hell happened here."

"Yeah… you can call this a lot of things, but a victory isn't one of them."

* * *

><p>"Open your eyes."<p>

Kaminari opened them. She gasped.

The world was before her, resplendent in green, blue and white. A massive orb of immense size in a space infinitely bigger, staring at her as she stared at it. Hanging in complete darkness, it glowed beautifully.

"Your Earth," Astrotrain announced. "A strange little place…"

Kaminari didn't reply. She looked around and realised she was floating in space. The sudden realisation of just how small she was in the universe hit her like a ton of bricks; looking down on the Earth, she gained this new perspective instantly.

"A world of land and sea, of people and places, of milk and honey…" he uttered. "So small, yet so big at the same time."

Kaminari began to feel scared. Not because of her company, but because of how… simply how small she felt.

"But I want to show you something," Astrotrain continued, before pointing at the Earth. "What is it you see?"

Kaminari gritted her teeth and forced herself to answer.

"My home." The words felt tiny, insignificant, especially against the huge creature beside her.

"A good answer, but I'm afraid you're wrong," the Decepticon sighed. "The fact is this; the Earth is nothing more than a rock."

Kaminari didn't answer. She just stared at the Earth.

"Because the universe is always expanding, I don't believe in size. You can call this rock big or small, I couldn't care less; but just remember that it is a rock. A rock that could be considered pretty or ugly, heavily populated or sparsely covered… but it is a rock. The fact of the matter is, wherever you are or whatever your opinions may be, it. Is. A. Rock."

"So it's a rock," Kaminari hissed. "What's your point?"

Silence.

Then;

"Do you have a family, human?"

Kaminari was taken aback. But she didn't show it.

"N-No… my mother passed away a few months ago…"

"Do you love anyone?"

Kaminari looked up at Astrotrain.

As far as HARP had been informed by the Autobots, Astrotrain had been a thug. A thug with smarts, yes, but otherwise your basic Decepticon grunt. According to the Autobots, he had been a simple engineer on Cybertron, tasked with doing nothing more than fixing vehicles. The only thing that had been noticeably different about him from the other engineers was that he was a mutant; one of the rare few cybertronians who were triple-changers. Other than this, he had been a nobody.

But then fate pulled him into the war's clutches. Before the Autobot and Decepticon war, Astrotrain had been on the side of Sentinel Prime in his quest to restore Cybertron to glory. But one of the crack soldiers was wounded in battle, horribly scarred and close to death. Due to the lack of medics in those chaotic times, Astrotrain found himself in charge of this patient. Using what he found, he replaced pieces of the soldier's torn-up central-processor with drone parts. He even replaced the cybertronian's right arm with an experimental cannon he had been working on. If this operation had been performed on any other cybertronian it probably would have killed him or, at the very least, scarred him for life. But Astrotrain had been delivered the toughest soldier on Cybertron; Shockwave. One morning, Astrotrain's accidental Frankenstein's monster came to life. Since then, Astrotrain had followed his creation with steadfast loyalty.

But, staring up at him, Kaminari realised the truth.

Astrotrain wasn't the toughest Decepticon. Nor the smartest. Nor the maddest. But he was by far the ugliest. This, Kaminari assumed, was why people underestimated him.

They underestimated his tenacity for survival.

This 'con wasn't just a simple engineer.

"You understand love?" she asked curiously.

"Yep. But as a dumb robot, I have no idea what it feels like," he chuckled sarcastically. "But I understand that it's probably the most important thing that you humans want or need. So I'm asking if you're in love, to see if I can present to you any new… career opportunities."

"…No, I'm not in love—"

"Excellent. Join us."

It took a few seconds for it to hit Kaminari. When it did, she looked up in shock.

"Y-You…"

She tried to find words. Astrotrain's hideous face regarded her with amusement.

"You… you asked me those questions to simply find out if I had any meaningful connections to my planet!"

"Smart. You're gonna go far, kid."

"I'm twenty-seven."

"And I'm much older than you think… kid."

Kaminari angrily looked up at him.

"If you think I'm going to betray my country, my friends or my planet, you've got another thing coming!"

Astrotrain studied her. She shivered.

"What's your name, human?"

"Kaminari."

"Kaminari… it's a rock."

"I-It's my ho—"

"HOME?" Astrotrain suddenly roared, splaying his arms out wide. "THIS IS YOUR HOME! WHY RESTRICT YOURSELF TO ONE MEASLY LITTLE ROCK WHEN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE IS YOURS FOR THE TAKING?"

The force of this outburst caught Kaminari off-guard. But she was suddenly angry in kind.

"THIS?" she shouted back. "IS NOTHING! IT'S NOTHING BUT EMPTINESS! WHAT ABOUT CYBERTRON? DON'T YOU MISS YOUR _REAL _HOME?"

"Cybertron," Astrotrain hissed. "Is nothing. It bloomed. It burned. It was destroyed. Now it's no more than memories. It was exactly the same as Earth; just made of different materials and several million years in the past.

"But you call this nothing?" he continued. "Nothing but emptiness? You're a fool if you believe that. The universe is empty in the same way that Earth is covered in water. Seventy-three percent. Yet you call it home?"

"I was born there. I was raised there. It's all I've ever known."

"It will burn as Cybertron did. We will sack the world tomorrow."

Kaminari opened her mouth in shock. She looked towards her precious planet, agape.

"Why do you still stare at it so longingly?" Astrotrain muttered. "After all, you're in our clutches now."

Kaminari turned on him, furious.

"I am a human," she announced. "And I will never join you—"

"That, Kaminari, is where you are so wrong."

Quick as lightning, Astrotrain reached out and grabbed her. She struggled in his grasp as he brought her up to his ugly face.

"Do you really believe you're one of them?" he asked cruelly. "What runs through your veins isn't the blood your mother gave you. What allows you to breathe is utterly optional. In fact, you're more machine now than human. Looking down on you, I don't see an enemy that must be crushed; I see a long-lost relative."

Kaminari looked up at Astrotrain. Her iron gaze wavered. His words cut deep, but only because they were true. There were no lies behind Astrotrain's fiery optics.

There was a grunt.

The two of them turned.

Crashdive floated beside them, arms crossed, bemused optics observing.

"In the end, you only have two options, Kaminari," Astrotrain said as he released her. "Either be _his_ slave… or _our_ ally."

Crashdive grabbed his prisoner, transformed, and shot towards the moon.

Astrotrain looked towards the rock.

"Starting tomorrow," he whispered to himself, reflectively. "You will be no more than dust."

* * *

><p>Ryder awoke to the smell of burning.<p>

He opened his eyes. He looked up at the night.

"Who dragged me outside?" he wondered aloud. Curiously, he realised he felt no pain.

There was no answer.

He frowned.

Sitting up, he looked around him.

He wasn't on Earth.

Fires melted everything around him. Ton upon ton of metal, all shapes and sizes, melted. The fires burned so bright and so hot that Ryder realised they couldn't possibly be normal flames. The inferno twisted the metal, reduced it to a bubbling pool, and then released the gases it produced into the air. For some reason, Ryder got the feeling that something was dying. Something old and sad… something hungry and benevolent. Something screaming, that could never be heard.

There was no smoke.

"You were not dragged. You came here upon your own two legs."

Ryder turned and saw a figure silhouetted in the flames.

Sixshot.

Ryder stood, frowning deeper, realising he had no weapon.

"What am I doing here?" he asked.

Sixshot turned and looked up at the stars.

"Only you know."

"I doubt that."

"Why should you? You are your own person, are you not? Learn to think for yourself."

"All my life I've done nothing but think for myself."

"Lies. You crave attention like a spoiled child. All you've ever done was to get into the spotlight, never acting like you were seeking it. You live for the attention of others, nothing more."

"Whatever you say."

"Why come on the Autobots' missions? Why help them with their victories? Why the strange appearance, why the dismissive attitude? Why even stay with the others? Why try to save the girl? You are too smart for your age but too blind to do anything with that knowledge. The road you travel will lead you to your death."

"That's fine by me."

"Is it? What if I told you your death would go unnoticed by anyone but me? What if I told you that you would die alone and cold, not helping anyone, doing nothing more than seeking answers to questions irrelevant? You will die, Ryder, in the dark, the spotlight firmly entrenched on those who think _for _others, not those who think _about _others."

Ryder was silent, immovable behind his shades.

"For that's what you've been building to, isn't it?" Sixshot continued. "A death that would capture the eyes of the world, a death of true heroics, of true brilliance, of true courage! After all, what is life but leading to death? But for you, death will be painful and brief. Alone, atop a dead god, as he tightens your throat with invisible hands. That's how you will die, Ryder; immaterial."

"You're not Sixshot."

"It doesn't matter who I am. Unless you get out now, while death lingers close, your entire life will be entirely meaningless."

The fires drew closer. Sixshot's silhouette began to fade.

"Who are you?" Ryder muttered.

The fires surrounded him. The smell of burning lingered in the air.

"WHO ARE YOU?" he roared.

"Ryder? Are you awake?"

* * *

><p>Ryder awoke to the smell of plastic flowers.<p>

"Ryder? Are you ok?" Marcus asked.

Ryder frowned. Marcus stared down at him, worried.

"Yeah," Ryder murmured. "I guess so."

Marcus slapped him across the face. The blow stung and Ryder's eyes widened.

"I deserved that," Ryder admitted.

"Glad we're on the same page. Look to your left."

Ryder looked and saw Stacy asleep in the next bed along, bandage wrapped around her head.

"Hospital," Ryder spat. "I hate hospitals."

"This hospital removed the bullet from your pancreas," Marcus told him. "And it stopped her bleeding to death. So shut up."

Ryder lay back and shut his eyes.

Then immediately opened them again.

"Marcus…"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't get any headaches while here, did you?"

Marcus frowned. He looked at Ryder steadily.

His eyes widened.

"You saw something too, didn't you?" he asked.

Ryder nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Do your weird hallucinations ever pronounce your death in a rather demeaning way?"

"All the time. Frankly, it's become disappointing when he doesn't give me an update on my date with destiny."

"What a prick."

There was a small silence between them.

"You know…" Ryder murmured. "I've a bad feeling about whatever's coming next…"

"You've got a bad feeling? Sound Defcon 1!"

"Funny. I'm serious. Time's not on our side."

Marcus sighed and sat on a nearby chair.

"You know, we've come pretty far, haven't we?" he wondered. "We ran around with HARP for a while, explored the world, made friends…"

"But our luck's ran out," Stacy murmured, opening her eyes. "We all came close today. We need to quit while we're ahead."

Marcus smiled. "You okay?"

"I guess."

Ryder made an exasperated noise. Marcus and Stacy smiled at him.

"How did the invulnerable Ryder get into hospital then?" she continued.

"Killed another Decepticon creep. Unfortunately, it did its best to kill me. We need to find the Echidna behind all this."

Marcus frowned. "Echidna?"

Ryder sat up, sighing as he prepared his story.

"You heard of the Chimaera?"

"The Greek monster? Sure."

"You heard of the Hydra?"

"…Yeah."

"The Cyclops?"

"This have a point?"

"There was a creature called Echidna; known as the Mother of All Monsters. If you've heard of a creature from the myths, chances are she conceived it. The point I'm making is that no matter how many monsters you kill, Echidna will make more. Laserbeak was just another monster of the week, a guy who needed to be beaten and put six feet under. We need to find the guys who sent him and beat them in order for the monsters to stay gone."

"And how would we do that?" Marcus questioned. "They're kind of on the moon."

"Let them come to us."

Marcus threw up his hands in conclusion. "Fine. The Autobots can handle it."

Ryder frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Ryder; it's over. We're done. The Autobots could be exiled at any minute, the world's in the middle of a shitstorm after the Decepticon assault, and we almost died today! It's time to pack it in and get on with our lives."

Ryder shook his head. "You're giving up?"

"Ryder," Stacy said. "It's not our fight. It never was. And the fight's in its final stages anyway. We just need to report to HARP, say our goodbyes, then find our own way."

Ryder looked at them both. They looked back. He sighed.

"Then good luck to you both," he muttered. "But I need to find some things out before I retire. If this really is the endgame of this war, I'm determined to be part of the checkmate."

Marcus sighed. "Here comes the theatrics. Life isn't a chess game, Ryder."

"You're right. War is."

* * *

><p>Megatron stood atop the <em>Ark<em>.

Below him, numbering dozens, Decepticons stood, ready for battle.

"There will be no speech," he uttered. "There will be no delays. There will be no more waiting…

"DECEPTICONS ATTACK!"

They shot off, Earth in their sights, leaving behind only a skeleton crew.

They vowed the skies would burn.

And the rock would die.


	39. A Dance With Death

_I put a spell on you...  
>'Cause I know you're mine...<em>

Oh man. Good Mourning is reaching its climax. And... it feels so great. I like this chapter here, but its the next one that will have all the answers.

But this is where it changes.

This is where _everything _changes.

Thanks as always to **Megan666, Answerthecall **and **Mytical-Myst-Devil**!

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you think Prowl had time to warn them, my lord?"<em>

"_Dreadwing, as you are in charge of the Pillars themselves, surely you should know the answers to that."_

"…_Well, at the velocity he was going, plus the destination imprinted, plus Earth's gravitational pull… he may have died in the crash."_

"_70% chance of death through descent. Another 12% for stasis lock. 18% for alive."_

"_Not for long. Besides, Earth would never be prepared in time."_

"_Earth wouldn't be prepared in a hundred years. I just worry for the amount of casualties we may sustain."_

"_Most of them are drones, sir."_

"_Each drone is a weapon. It's always better to have more weapons than less."_

"_Of course, my lord."_

_Dreadwing looked to the blazing moon in the distance._

"_Anything wrong, Dreadwing?"_

"_Well… yes, my lord. I have lived here my whole life, ruled it for thousands of years, died here, returned and ruled again. I… I felt like I changed things. And… I don't want to see it all go to waste."_

_His lord looked at him with cold eyes._

"_This place is nothing but waste. You all told me that. All you've done and all everyone else has achieved was undone by Optimus Prime when he stopped Sentinel and smashed the Pillars. It is over. There is nothing left for us here."_

"…_Of course, my lord. Orders?"_

_His lord looked to the armada._

"_Ascend."_

_Dreadwing relayed the orders. Thousands of ships, from the lowliest destroyer to the largest battleship, ascended into the air._

"_Destination; Earth. Objective; Conquest."_

* * *

><p><span>Episode 35: A Dance With Death<span>

_Waiting for the winds of change to sweep the clouds away  
>Waiting for the rainbow's end to cast its countless rays<br>Countless ways…  
>You pass the days…<em>

—**Something for Nothing**

* * *

><p>"<em>Today, First Lady Denise Callahan mourns the death of her family…"<em>

"_Chief of Staff, Harry Pierce, is now the President of the United States…"_

"_It has been decided, from The Hague itself, that the Autobots be exiled to stop further casualties upon the Earth…"_

"So that's that, huh?" the bartender muttered.

Roy Desmond looked up from the empty glass.

"I guess so," he murmured wearily.

_And just like that, I'm dead… _he thought wearily.

"Idiots," the bartender continued as he rubbed a glass clean. "You hear anything about that at the White House?"

Roy rubbed his eyes. "Please, don't remind me of the White House. The phones went off all day."

"As an army man, I would've thought that you'd want the Autobots to stay."

"Frankly, I couldn't care either way."

Smoke curled around the bar as the midday sun stared down at them all. Washington was in a state, as it had been the past few days, with ambulance crews still ferrying back and forth between pockets of rubble. But even with all that had happened, businesses were still open; even with so many people dying, you had to make a living.

"And why not?" the bartender continued.

Roy sighed and looked at his watch. _Might as well share the love…_

"Do you remember that televised broadcast… you know 'Harbinger' and the likes?"

"I doubt many people would forget it."

"Yeah… well I worked for her."

The bartender raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Er… 'her'?"

"Don't believe the voice," Roy continued glumly. "She was hard as nails, yet drove a pretty hard bargain. And when your son's going down for chasing the dragon and your career's on the line, you'll take hard bargains. But there was a problem."

The bartender was enraptured. But he kept a hand close to the shotgun beneath the bar.

"You see, I was also working for the Decepticons."

"I think it's about time your left, Roy."

"Lemme finish my drink first," the general said grumpily. "But you see, the point is I _used _to work for them. But…" He waved his hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. "Shit gets crazy.

"I regret the things I've done, sure. But, at the end of the day, I would have always made the same choices as I did anyway… you know? But… it doesn't matter anyway."

"Roy, get out. I don't want to listen to this."

"Listen to what?" Roy asked angrily. "Listen to me? Or listen to _that_?"

The barkeep opened up his ears and managed to pick out a strange whistling sound… and it was getting louder.

"You see, a little bird told me that the only Decepticon who wanted me alive had got taken out by the very gal I was secretly working for," Roy muttered with a dry chuckle. "How ironic. I get her into HARP and how does she repay me? By killing my other employer. But… I guess it fits. Maybe I don't deserve to live. And here I am, another unknown casualty in this pointless war."

The barkeep visibly gaped. "C-Casualty?"

The bar began to rattle as the death cry whistle continued. Bottles and glasses shattered to the floor.

"You see, here I am, what you may call a bad guy," Roy murmured bitterly. "And here you are, what you may call a good guy. And you know what? It doesn't matter one tiny little bit."

The barkeep hid under the bar. The patrons ran for the exit. Roy finished his drink.

"See you on the other side, buddy," he whispered.

Then the bar exploded as something smashed onto it.

Shockwave stood tall and triumphant. Moving away from the bar he had crushed underfoot, he stared around at people running.

Astrotrain transformed and landed a lot more carefully nearby. "You sure know how to make an entrance, sir."

"First impressions," Shockwave intoned. "Are the ones that last forever."

"Then which one do you want to take?" Astrotrain laughed. "The House or the Spire?"

Shockwave answered by launching a missile into the air. It sped down the street and headed straight for the White House.

A moment later, the ancestral home exploded, taking the second President in as many days with it.

Astrotrain grinned and paced down the street towards the Washington Monument, havoc on his mind.

* * *

><p>"MAJOR FENWAY!" a corporal roared as he burst into the office. "WE GOT SHOCKWAVE TEARING UP WASHINGTON!"<p>

"Again?" Fenway cried. "Where are the Autobots?"

"I'll go get them!"

Fenway gritted his teeth. It was going to be a long day. It might even be his last.

He strode out into a corridor in HARP HQ.

"Private Ferdinand, where's General Mason?" he barked.

"Last I heard he was at the Pentagon with the Secretary of Defence, sir."

"Good. Richards, get our planes into the air. I want 'Boogeyman' and 'Warhammer' to be at downtown as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir!"

"Dawson, get our armoured vehicles ready and pull our troops from the cybertronian crashsite; I want everyone at downtown, _now_."

"Yes, sir."

"Fletcher, what's Sideswipe's condition?"

"Still in stasis lock and as perilously close to death as always, sir."

"God _damn_ it! Archer, get the 101st Airborne on the line; I want everyone down here, _right now_!"

"Yes sir!"

"Let's go, gentlemen! Let's kick the 'cons off this world for good!"

* * *

><p>Kaminari stared hard at the creature who had saved her life.<p>

Crashdive sat up against a wall in the ancient hulk. His optics were off and his muscles relaxed; Kaminari knew from her experiences with the Autobots that he had powered off, conserving and converting energy so that he may wake up ready for battle. Along with the rather unhinged Skyrender, the two Seekers were to hold down the fort while the other Decepticons sacked Earth. Crashdive had not been happy about it (much to Crowbar's regret) and as soon as he had calmed down he'd gone into a sulky stupor. Kaminari had been wise not to wake him. Skyrender had been even wiser and had avoided his Seeker brethren entirely.

_Why did this foul-tempered, mute, axe-crazy Decepticon save my life?_

"You're a strange one all right," she said. Crashdive didn't answer. "Almost as strange as that Astrotrain."

Speaking about the other Decepticon reminded her of him.

_As if I would turn my back on Earth! What was he thinking?_

She looked at her new arm, spiny and dark, ending in five horrific claws.

_He was speaking to me as an equal…_

"Maybe I can't go back," she whispered to the darkness. "If I go back… If I _can _go back… would I still be accepted? There would be interrogations, interviews… looks wherever I went…

"I could get it replaced! No… no, my life depends on this thing. Without it, I'll die…"

Crashdive didn't respond.

"You know, you make great company," Kaminari muttered sarcastically. "A great conversationalist."

Crashdive was out like a light.

Kaminari took a deep breath. "If the Decepticons do take the Earth, I'll probably be the last human left alive in the universe. What good is that? I'll be totally alone in the universe… utterly alone—"

Crashdive's scimitar missed her by millimetres. If it wasn't for her seeing him move a split second before he attacked, she would have been split in two. She barely dodged out of the way as it was, looking up.

Crashdive stared down at her, huge sword in hand. He had never been asleep.

"What's the big deal?" she demanded. "Saving me so that you could kill me? Where's the sense in that?"

In response, Crashdive tried to crush her. She spun out the way, not breathing, as the Decepticon continued his assault.

She didn't stand a chance.

"STOP!" she cried. He didn't stop. She rolled out of the way of another blow, this one supersonic in its speed. She was surprised at her own agility.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" she roared.

Crashdive stopped. He stared down at her.

"WHY DID YOU SAVE ME?" she screamed. "WHY MAKE ME ENDURE SO MUCH PAIN SO THAT YOU COULD KILL ME YOURSELF?"

Crashdive stared at her with manic eyes. Kaminari's own eyes were filled with tears.

"Bitch," Crashdive hissed. "Talks too much."

Kaminari stared, dumbfounded.

_H-He can speak!_

"Now Bitch knows I can speak," Crashdive gurgled in broken English. "Bitch must die. Or every bastard will shout from the moon."

"B-But…" Kaminari tried to say through her gaping mouth. "If you can speak… why don't you?"

Crashdive flashed his scimitar. "Not practical."

He brought the sword down, forcing Kaminari back through the ship. She was beginning to panic, but tried to think of a way to slow down.

"B-But speaking's the most practical thing there is!" she cried as the blade missed her by inches.

"Too many words," Crashdive hissed as he closed down on her. "Words don't bleed."

Another miss. It was at that point Kaminari realised he wasn't trying to kill her.

She stopped and splayed her arms out wide.

Crashdive halted as well. He looked at her quizzically.

"I don't care if you don't like speaking," she hissed. "You will tell me why you saved me!"

Crashdive spat on her. The huge glob of digested lubricant knocked her to the floor. She grimaced, her body soaked with Crashdive's liquids.

"You…" she muttered, enraged.

"Silence says more than words," he snarled. He raised the scimitar for a killing blow.

"Move," he ordered, unconquerable.

Kaminari leapt out the way as the blade came down like a guillotine. She slid across the ground on wet clothes, tears dripping from her eyes.

"You fucker…" she whispered.

She looked up and found Crashdive's face leering down at her.

"Bitch beat Bastard," he uttered. "Bastard beat I. Bitch is better than I. Bitch will kill I when Bitch is ready. When ready, Bitch will put up final fight. 'Til then, Bitch will hurt more bastards."

Kaminari stared at him. "You want me to kill you?"

"No," Crashdive hissed. "But Bitch will try, or Bitch will die."

"I have a name," she muttered. "It's Kam—"

"I have name; I," Crashdive gurgled. "Bitch fight I, Bitch kill I, _now_."

Kaminari was exasperated. "WITH WHAT? I HAVE NO WEAPONS!"

Crashdive considered this. He dropped the scimitar.

"Bitch has weapon. I don't."

"You must be joking."

"Bitch kill I with blade. Or Bitch kill I with hands."

Kaminari looked up at Crashdive. The Decepticon was deadly serious.

Experimentally, she tried to pick up the scimitar.

To her utter shock, she did.

Thanks to the moon's lack of gravity and the surprising light weight of the weapon, grabbing the pommel of the huge scimitar and pulling with all of her strength, she raised the weapon a metre off the floor. But she knew instantly that there was no possible way she could wield it.

Crashdive attempted another stomp, but Kaminari floated out of his range. She stared up, furious.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST KILL ME?" she roared.

"Dead Bitches can't talk," Crashdive chided. "Are you alive, bitch?"

"Of course I'm alive!"

"So why wish for death?"

"BECAUSE I MAY AS WELL BE DEAD!"

"Then shut up. Dead Bitches can't talk."

Kaminari pursed her lips. Crashdive tutted and turned around, heading away.

"Where are you going?"

"Shut up. Dead Bitches can't talk."

He headed for the exit, disappointed in his failed experiment.

"You can't just—!"

"Shut up."

"But—"

"Shut up."

Kaminari got the message. Crashdive headed out into the darkness.

She was left alone.

_He…_

_That shit…_

"DON'T YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!" she screamed. "I AM ALIVE! I AM ALIVE! SO COME AT ME, CRASHDIVE! COME BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!"

Crashdive roared back into the room, picking up his scimitar as he did so. Kaminari fell back, falling into a martial-arts crouch.

"Are you alive?" Crashdive asked as he stood over her.

Kaminari didn't answer. She knew what he'd do if she said yes.

"Dead Bitch cannot die again. Are you alive?"

"Yes."

"What is alive can only live once. Are. You. Alive?"

"YES GODDAMN YOU!"

Crashdive readied his huge scimitar. "Then Bitch shall die."

"Not before you, Bastard."

Crashdive grinned and charged.

"New Bitch. Old tricks."

* * *

><p>Optimus awoke.<p>

"No time for dramatics!" Epps shouted. "We got Decepticons tearing up Washington right now!"

"Can't they just spend one day in bed?" Mirage muttered as he awoke. Ratchet had worked like an ant the previous night, healing every Autobot as good as he could, before turning to his own injuries. The result wasn't a perfect Autobot fighting force, but something close.

Optimus sat up. He breathed in the human air, partly to taste its many layers in his throat and partly to heave a laborious sigh.

_Another day, another battle. They never cease. We never even found out how Prowl got here… or how he's still alive… or anything…_

"Optimus," Arcee said. He looked up.

"Let's finish this once and for all. Let's end it here."

Optimus narrowed his optics. He nodded.

_Once more unto the breach…_

"Then, for the last battle, I have but one thing to say," he announced. "Autobots; roll out!"

The personal of HARP whooped and cheered as Optimus, Arcee and Mirage transformed.

"I'm sorry, Optimus," Ratchet told him. "But I can't leave Sideswipe; he's still so close to death."

"Do not worry, Ratchet. You must do all you can for him. Besides, we have a whole planet with us on this one."

Ratchet was confused. "But… they have announced us exiles! As soon as General Mason gets here, we'll be forced off-world!"

"So, as a goodbye present, let's leave them Megatron's corpse."

The three Autobots shot down the airfield as jets got ready for take-off.

* * *

><p>The wrecked, battered, historic, patriotic and imposing form of the Washington Monument, swayed slightly.<p>

And then it fell.

Slow and inevitable, it fell on its side, crushing several huge buildings. Astrotrain laughed as the National Guard closed in.

"This is the best you could do?" he asked, chuckling. "Sorry, but that's not good enough."

A missile struck his shoulder. He looked at the smoking metal, frowning.

"You shouldn't have done that."

As APCs and soldiers went flying, Astrotrain realised that with just the toppling of one building, he had carved Washington open. It no longer looked like the heart of the United States of America; just another hive that needed to be exterminated.

Astrotrain flexed his claws.

"It's time—"

Optimus Prime slammed into him, sending him sprawling. Arcee slashed his face with her blade as Mirage plugged several missiles into his chest. Astrotrain cried out and fell back.

A huge arm clobbered all three Autobots away.

Shockwave stood over them all. He cocked his cannon.

"Optimus," he intoned. "The time has come for your destruction."

"NOT TODAY!" Optimus roared, leaping back to his feet and charging.

"That is not for you to decide," Shockwave uttered.

Their blades slammed together as Arcee and Mirage circled Shockwave to attack Astrotrain. The other Decepticon eyed his competition warily.

"Well, well, well…" he muttered.

As Shockwave and Optimus fought, clearing the area, the two Autobots aimed towards Astrotrain.

"Left," Arcee muttered.

"Right," Mirage confirmed.

Astrotrain breathed deep, though he didn't need to.

_This is it, _he thought, _Another dance with death. Another battle which I must escape alive. I've done it before, something not even Megatron nor Shockwave nor Optimus can claim to have done._

_To conquer death, you only have to die…_

The two Autobots charged, roaring.

Astrotrain grinned.

* * *

><p>"They're fighting again," Marcus whispered, as if in a trance.<p>

Ryder tried to get up, but failed thanks to his injury. He cursed under his breath.

"Great," Stacy muttered. "Just as we agree to escape the war, war chases us down."

"You can't escape the war," Ryder murmured. "No-one can escape the war."

"How dramatic," Marcus sighed sadly. "But… I'm afraid he's going to be right."

They were all silent, contemplating.

"So there's nothing we can do," Stacy whispered. "We just have to put faith in the Autobots."

"Faith is no weapon," Ryder responded. "A weapon is a weapon. That's what the Autobots need."

Marcus stared out the window to where the monument had once stood.

"Either way, to take down Shockwave they'll need something more than a mere weapon."

* * *

><p>Shockwave knocked Optimus onto the ground again, pushing the Prime back.<p>

"Optimus, you are clearly outmatched."

In response, Optimus spat out a tooth, leapt to his feet and charged with sword in hand. Shockwave stood resolute, knocking Optimus back into a building.

A 105mm shell hit Shockwave in the side. He roared in pain looking up.

High in the clouds, two AC-130s began to open fire.

Moving faster than he ever did before, Shockwave leapt to the side, where Astrotrain was holding his own against the other two Autobots. Upon seeing him coming, Arcee and Mirage fled as fast as they could. A relieved Astrotrain looked up at his commander.

"Air support has arrived," Shockwave uttered. "Deal with them."

Astrotrain nodded and transformed into his shuttle guise, shooting straight upwards.

Shockwave turned back.

Optimus was gone.

"The hunt is on."

* * *

><p>"Uh, Warhammer?" Major Illich asked fearfully.<p>

"_Don't worry, Natasha,"_ Major Peters, pilot of 'Warhammer' replied. "_We see him._"

"_We got eyes on Astrotrain, heading straight for us!_" Hernandez cried.

"OPEN FIRE!" Major Illich cried.

Boogeyman and Warhammer opened fire on the oncoming shuttle, which successfully swerved out of the way, continuing its crash-course.

"_Keep up the pressure!_" Peters cried. "_We need to—"_

Thundercracker smashed into the AC-130. With a swipe of his axe he split it in half, sending the flaming pieces down towards the ground below.

"PETERS!" Illich cried.

She looked out the cockpit.

Starscream's face greeted her.

"Three seconds to eject," he uttered.

Illich was frozen with fear.

"Two."

She stared into the eyes of death.

"One."

She finally took a hold of her senses, reaching for the ejection handle.

"Too late."

Starscream tore apart the cockpit, sending Boogeyman on its final descent. It plunged through the clouds, as the commander of the Seekers looked on.

A missile slammed into him, causing him to spin through the air. He roared, turning towards the new threat.

Hundreds of planes shot towards the two Seekers.

"Sir," Thundercracker warned. "There might be too many—"

"COME ON!" Starscream roared, transforming and heading straight towards them.

Thundercracker sighed and joined his commander on the assault.

* * *

><p>Kaminari fell down again. She finally confirmed her fears; Crashdive wasn't planning on killing her.<p>

_He just wants a little pet to fight. That, or he has a weird way to treat people who are better than him._

She gave up. She lay back on the hard metal floor of the _Ark_, wishing she was dreaming or far away.

Crashdive grunted his disapproval. He turned away.

"Remember to turn it," he snarled as he exited. "Or Bitch will die."

_Turn it? Turn what?_

But then she remembered. She turned to look at the small nob on her hideous arm.

_Flatline said if I didn't turn this once every 24 hours, I would die. My organs wouldn't receive the sweet supply of energon and I would go into a robotic form of cardiac arrest. But if I turned it more than once, beat my heart faster, then my veins would become clogged with energon; a much more painful way to die. And with my nerves coming back, that's a bad thing._

_But…_

_If I gave it more than one twist, would it increase my abilities? The Transformers can suffer the most debilitating injuries and wake up fine the next day… perhaps…_

_No! I am a human! I am a woman grown and powerful! This is nothing more than a piece of metal, grafted on through madness!_

She looked out one of the many skylights towards where the Earth was. The silence was total and absolute.

_But… this arm is power. It keeps me alive… Astrotrain was right, I am more machine than human. If it's nothing more than tin keeping me alive… how can I live, truly?_

_I am a shadow of a human. No, a mockery. An exile by their standards. No more than a freak to put under the microscope, to dissect with hungry minds…_

Tears came. But they did not roll down her cheeks. She watched them float away into the darkness, little drops of salty water. They clouded her vision of the far-away seas and skies.

_No…_

She looked at her human arm. Then she looked back to her inhuman arm.

_Truly… which is stronger?_

She flexed her weak, fleshy digits. She flexed her versatile, sharp claws.

_Maybe… I'm not degenerating…_

_Maybe I'm evolving._

She scraped her claws across the metal floor of the hull. There was no sound, but it felt… good.

_If this is the next step for man, then why not welcome it? Why not let it be? If I am faster, stronger… more powerful than before, is that not good? As long as I do what I do for good, then there is nothing wrong with using this as a tool. A tool to hammer out a better future._

"…_Either be _his _slave… or _our _ally."_

_I can change things. From this side I can do what I could not on Earth._

_With hands of iron… you can't bleed._

_It can lift wood. It can lift bone. It can lift water._

_It can lift rock._

_A rock._

She raised her claws to the bright dot…

And closed them around it.

From the shadows, Crashdive smiled.

* * *

><p>"You can run," Barricade uttered. "But never fast enough."<p>

He overturned a bus, his flail smashing apart the street. People fled, or were torn apart.

Beside him, Mindwipe gunned down several pedestrians. Barricade kept an eye on him; the scrawny Decepticon had been working with Fracture recently and that didn't mean anything good.

"Watch out, boss!" Mindwipe called as a rocket propelled past Barricade's head. National Guardsmen arrived, a tank between them.

"Easy," Barricade muttered. He raised a hand.

But the tank fired earlier than expected. As the missile sped from Barricade's arm, a huge shell smashed into Barricade's chest. Although the tank was utterly smashed, Barricade was thrown back down the street, roaring in pain.

Helicopters appeared in the sky. Jets whooshed overhead.

"Megatron may have underestimated the humans," Mindwipe muttered to himself. He scooted over to Barricade and dragged him into a nearby alleyway. Barricade coughed up some energon, the staggering blow having crushed several metal ribs.

Mindwipe looked down on the wounded lieutenant.

"What is yours is mine," he whispered.

Barricade came to his senses. Far too late.

"Here you lie, low on time…

"A mind in shock, a mind in pain…

"All of you I own, right to the brain…

"My only order is that you obey my every command…

"Until the stars die and this rock is sand."

* * *

><p>Optimus stabbed Shockwave through his leg. The Decepticon looked down in annoyance.<p>

"Enough of these games, Optimus," Shockwave announced, throwing the Autobot away. His malevolent, monotonous optic looked to the sky.

"We have arrived."

Decepticons big and small smashed into the ground around them all, as choppers fell in flames and jets danced with Seekers.

Optimus looked up.

A new Decepticon stood facing him.

Flames lashed his gnarly, yet huge body. Claws stretched and flexed, rending and hateful. His teeth reflected the fires of war, his optics staring at the defeated Prime.

_Another day…_

_Another round._

Each footfall removed the ground beneath him, each labourous step exuding his power and domination. As Shockwave and the rest of the Decepticons dispatched the HARP troops that thundered into the centre of Washington, this one approached Optimus evenly.

"This is the end, isn't it?" Megatron growled, almost reverent.

"I guess so," Optimus muttered, getting to his feet and meeting the glare of his nemesis.

Megatron's hand transformed into a cruel, curved hybrid of a sword and blaster.

"Then testify, Optimus," Megatron uttered. "Cry out how good will triumph over evil in this story, how you'll save the day. That's what you do. You're Optimus Prime. No-one can best you, even in death."

Optimus frowned, his keyblade appearing in hand. "If this be the last time we fight, Megatron, I expect nothing but the best."

"Of course, brother," Megatron chuckled. "Once these humans… your own ball and chain… are finally gone, you can rest easy knowing you'll be sleeping side by side with them."

"Hold nothing back," Optimus uttered.

Megatron frowned. "Then this is the last time. This is the last battle.

"Here we dance with death."

Once again, their swords met in the shower of fire and the sound of screaming metal.

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you wish to know the truth, my lord?" Ramjet muttered with a spiteful grin.<em>

"…_About what?"_

"_The Destroyer."_

_There was a silence. They would be arriving soon._

"_Tell me."_

"_It isn't the Destroyer."_

_There was another silence._

"_Then what is the Destroyer?"_

"_It's you, my lord. It was always you. As soon as we laid eyes on you, we knew it to be true. A sign from Primus himself… if I may say so!"_

_A laugh._

_And then they arrived._

* * *

><p>Mirage pushed Hatchet back as Astrotrain blew up the ground beneath Arcee.<p>

Epps fired a missile into the ankle of Crowbar, flooring him.

Major Fenway and his command vehicle were blown to pieces by Shockwave.

Starscream and Thundercracker tore apart the airforce of the USA.

The kids watched from their window, helpless.

Optimus Prime fought Megatron in the centre of a burning capital.

And then the sky split open.

* * *

><p>There was no sun.<p>

There were no clouds.

No blue sky could be seen.

Darkness covered the city.

* * *

><p>Hundreds upon hundreds of huge battleships filled the sky. Warships from a world away looked down on the battle, puny in comparison.<p>

Optimus and Megatron looked up.

"What is this…?" Megatron whispered.

A million cannons pointed straight downwards.

* * *

><p>"My lord, we have arrived," Dreadwing informed.<p>

They stood aboard the bridge of the _Caliginous_, supreme warship of the Destroyer's forces. Payback confirmed it.

"A large battle is taking place below," the helmsman said. "Between Autobots, Decepticons and humans. They have momentarily hesitated."

"With good reason!" barked Ramjet. "My lord, the world is yours!"

His lord walked upon the bridge, intelligent optics gleaming.

"Loyalty… a word that is now lost…"

Payback turned on a microphone. Speakers from _Caliginous _would proclaim every word that would follow.

The lord took the stage.

* * *

><p>"Autobots, Decepticons… humans. Lay down your arms and surrender."<p>

"That voice!" Optimus cried.

"It can't be!" Megatron hissed.

"I am Lord High Protector Soundwave of the planet Cybertron," the lord announced. "This world is now under the Destroyer's control. It is under _my _control. As his second Praetoricon, I will deliver this world to him. Bow to me and you will be spared. If not, perish.

"I have returned."


	40. The Final Frontier

_But maybe angels really sing…  
>For the man who would be king…<em>

**Here is everything.**

**Millions upon millions of light-years of everything. All that was ever imagined and all that was ever created exists here, where here is nothing.**

**After all, how does nothing have everything?**

**You could swim through this sea for a million years and see only the distant stars, still glimmering down on you. You could shout or cry or scream, but you never would have, for all the listeners you'll receive. That is to say, none.**

**So you may as well be silent.**

**And gaze up at twinkling lights, so far away.**

**Far, far, away.**

* * *

><p><strong>But then, what is death? Is it, as commonly believed, nothing more than the end of life, extinguished, fairly or unfairly?<strong>

**Or is it living, with nothing to do? When dead, how can you measure time when every second feels like an eternity? When bored, how can you measure time when every second feels like an eternity?**

**Is space, with all the wonders it creates and destroys, heaven? Is space, with all its emptiness and loneliness, hell?**

**Heaven and Hell. Two words so immaterial to those who watch in the night. **

_**For you may believe in either, but you are wrong, for we are right.**_

_**Metaphorically then.**_

_**Then…**_

_**Then…**_

_**There is nothing to say.**_

**But at least when bored, you can consider these things.**

**Not when you're dead.**

* * *

><p><strong>A corpse floated through space, unappraising the space he had watched his entire life. What wonders there were to discover! Why settle for grey or black or silver, when the cosmic streets are paved with gold? Why settle for metal and metal and metal, when green and heat and everything, oh, everything is waiting to be revealed? Why fill space up with things, if they weren't meant to be observed, collected, revealed?<strong>

**He once thought these things, trapped in war.**

**Now he thought no longer.**

**Now he fought no longer.**

**Now he schemed no longer.**

**Now he lived no longer.**

**Once, a long time ago, so long ago… he looked up at the birds that gathered overhead.**

**Little more than a hatchling, he would watch the vultures and wonder what it would be like to fly. To be free. To be up in birdland.**

**So when he brought one down and tore its brain open to search for answers, the bird told him that there was no such thing as freedom. They just had a better view.**

**He killed the bird in desperation, anger, hatred; his dream could be realised, he knew it! There was still somewhere that birds could not fly, somewhere high above, the highest point there ever was! He would grow and he would learn how to bend steel and to bend minds, and, above all, bend knowledge. He would find this freedom in the far reaches of the Matrix, of the evangelical darkness in which everything there ever was, is or will be, lay. ****He would reach this paradise not warped in conflict, not wrapped in cold metal, not steeped in deep-rooted idiocy. **_**Keep your conquests and keep your victories; this world is no more than a speck of dust and we are less than atoms!**_

**If in death or boredom there is no such thing as time, then in space there is no such thing as size.**

**But his dream would not be realised. He couldn't escape the war.**

**No-one could escape the war.**

**Unlike the others he grew up around, he cared not for morals or ethics; dreams were not built on belief. They were built on actions. The war was proof enough that whether you were right or wrong didn't matter. You lived. Or you died. And he vowed he would live more than anyone else would ever.**

**He was nothing. But his grasp of knowledge and information and data was unprecedented, which is why the Lord High Protector approached him.**

**Now **_**here **_**was a creature who could give him the tools to ascend. He would rise through loyalty. He would become the spectre that hunted his enemies through lines of communication, the ghost in their system. He would prove himself.**

**But he thought nothing of these things as his corpse drifted through the void.**

* * *

><p><strong>He hunted down more animals. Not the most dangerous or the most wrathful, but the ones he was most interested in. They told him about their lives. He let them live.<strong>

**And then a ship was offered.**

**Not just any ship. **_**The **_**ship. The one that would carry him to the future, the one that would grant his dream of finding the freedom he craved. Not just freedom from authority or the system; but from his dead world, from its ugly sun to its ugly heart. He cared not for the Allspark or for its power. If you ever had power, you would die. He learned that quickly.**

**But he went with a mission. And he had not proved a thousand years of loyalty to throw this one away. He would complete his lord's final task and then begin his odyssey to whatever existed outside of his damned home.**

**He found Earth.**

**He found a rock.**

**He found humans.**

**Curious little insects. So much like his own race, but so much more greedy. They knew nothing of loyalty or honour, knew nothing of equality or of alliances. They were a murdering, savage race.**

**But he watched them and learned. He saw them try to talk to birds. He saw them fly into the sky, always dreaming of going further.**

**He could relate to that. And so he built his plans around them.**

**Battles were fought. His lord fell. Upon his decisive acts, his lord returned. He knew that once they had finished here, finished with this curious little world, finished with this mockery for Shangri-La, he would leave.**

**But this world had other plans.**

**Fools, with the help of the humans, wiped out their race. He did not care. They then wiped out the chance for immortality. He did not care. And then they destroyed his world.**

**He did not care.**

**But he thought none of these things as he drifted through emptiness.**

* * *

><p><strong>More silly little schemes. Immaterial.<strong>

**He had wondered once if the assassin had ever dreamed. Somehow, he thought 'yes'. He must have. You can only be alive if you dream.**

_**He dreamed no more.**_

**And then the hunt for his equal began.**

**His equal won. A single mistake, too costly.**

**And with a rending pain and silent scream, all his ambitions and dreams were laid to waste.**

**It was over.**

**And he dreamed no more.**

**He did not dream as his corpse fell through fire towards a rock.**

**A red rock.**

* * *

><p>A figure, wrapped in a worn cloak, stood atop the red landscape.<p>

He had seen the fallen star.

He made the decision that would change everything.

Acting out of boredom, where time does not exist, he went to investigate, rather than follow his orders and wait. After all, if boredom was death, then he might as well risk it.

"Right?

"RIGHT?"

He journeyed on, using the cloak to protect himself from the cold. It was going to be a long trip and, practically, expending valuable energy on temperature was foolish. The humans had learned that. _You could still learn a lot from them._

Although it was nothing more than a red desert, the planet was cold. It had always been cold.

He found the fallen star.

He grinned, dirty teeth showing. He had not eaten in a long time.

But when he recognised the face, he reset his optics to make sure he was seeing right. This was no illusion.

"For all its space and its aquarium of wonders," Skywarp chuckled. "The universe is a pretty small place."

Slowly, doing so as to not waste energy, he began to drag the corpse.

"I'm just neck-deep in resurrected assholes," he laughed. "And soon they'll be over my head! You, sir, are the luckiest bastard in existence!"

The dreamer became a warrior.

The warrior became a watcher.

The watcher became a cadaver.

He was the corpse who would be king.

* * *

><p><span>Episode 36: The Final Frontier<span>

_If I could survive  
>To live one more time<br>I wouldn't be changing a thing at all  
>Done more in my life<br>Than some do in ten  
>I'd go back and do it all over again<em>

—**The Final Frontier**

* * *

><p>Soundwave awoke.<p>

_There was…_

_Light._

A strange, dull orange glow pervaded his optics. There was no warmth in that light. But it was all he could see.

_He could see…_

He sat up in shock, his normally cool demeanour ruined by his memory of death.

_Death…_

_Impossible._

He may not have been dead, but he was certainly there.

"So this is the afterlife," Soundwave mused.

It _was_ death. Blasted metal and acrid dust surrounded him, stretching towards the horizon. He seemed to be in the galaxy's largest junkyard. The light seemed to be coming from an unseen sun, hidden behind still clouds of dust. Soundwave frowned.

"If this is the Pit," he murmured. "Then… yes… this is my hell."

He stood up, shakily. He wobbled slightly on delicate legs, before taking a shuddering step forwards. Dust was thrown up into the air, where it remained. Soundwave began to float upwards slightly.

_No gravity… what is this place?_

He activated his own gravity simulators within his feet. They sought out the nearest ground, allowing him to land and walk normally.

_How strange…_

He began to walk forward.

_All that I've tried to escape from, ever since I was activated… is now here, in my death._

He stopped. Shock hit him.

"This…" he whispered. "This is not the Pit…"

He knew where he was.

He knew he was alive.

Both were impossible.

He frowned. He now sought answers.

He walked across the dead world.

* * *

><p><em>Is this my doom?<em>

_Or my re-emergence?_

_Why have I been brought here?_

_To intimidate me?_

_To inspire me?_

_Both are foolish._

_But I will find my answers._

_And begin my journey anew._

* * *

><p>He found a piece of heart.<p>

It glowed an upset shade of blue, albeit dull. He picked it up, still feeling some of its power.

_As I thought; this entire planet has been neatly sliced in half. This is a piece of Cybertron's core._

"That's not yours," a gruff voice uttered. "Hand it over."

Soundwave looked up.

Another cybertronian stood atop a pile of junk. He aimed a blaster down at Soundwave's head.

Soundwave scanned his memory, trying to remember this one.

His optics widened in surprise.

"Prowl," he muttered. "It seems I'm not the only corpse with a lack of rigor mortis."

Prowl raised a blaster, an amused smile on his lips.

"We never actually met in battle, did we Soundwave?" he chuckled. "And now we meet, the war over."

"The war is far from over."

"Oh yes, I heard about this little place called Earth. Apparently, Prime and Megatron are still lubricating in the wind."

Soundwave frowned. "You consider the war over?"

"It is," Prowl announced, floating into the air. "I don't consider you an enemy, Soundwave. That said, I've been hired to retrieve pieces of the core that got separated from the two halves. That one must have fallen from the half that was transported to Earth. When Prime knocked out the Pillar, the planet was split in half. The half that stayed behind is where we are now. You're not on the surface; you're on what was once the crust… which, I guess, is now the surface."

"What about the half that was transported to Earth?"

"It got sucked into a wormhole, all mashed together, before coming back here. In other words, that half is literally all over the place. There's enough wreckage in the space outside of Cybertron to recreate an entire network of cities."

Soundwave considered this. "So you live upon this half?"

Prowl laughed. "Why would I? Look at this place; Cybertron is dead. We all have to move on. I'm only here to gather pieces of the core, like the one in your hand. A belly needs to be fed."

"The power in this will kill you if you try to consume it."

"Nice of you to be looking out for me. But I never said it was my belly."

Soundwave frowned. "There are others?"

"Really, I'm just a scout," he chuckled. "Many of us have been brought back to life."

"Who?"

"Why don't you meet them for yourself?"

Soundwave began to float.

"Show me."

* * *

><p>Where the deepest part of Cybertron had once been, there was now a mining operation. Entire networks of smelters and power-bearers excavated what was once the most powerful thing Soundwave had ever known, bar the Allspark. Entire complexes were scattered across the horizon.<p>

"I used to be in charge of this operation," Prowl informed. "Until Dreadwing and the others came back."

"Dreadwing?"

"Yeah, he came back. Why?"

"I found his head once."

Prowl laughed. "Who took it?"

"Starscream," Soundwave muttered. It was beginning to get a bit too surreal, even for him.

"Well, I can tell you this; he's more Autobot than me now," Prowl said. "That ship sailed long ago, when Optimus helped destroy our home"—He clenched a fist—"And doomed us."

Soundwave looked at Prowl. His history reported him as one of the most loyal and most practical Autobot lieutenants, one who had apparently stayed on Cybertron after the Allspark was lost. Now? Now he seemed cynical, world-weary… and if one of Optimus's most loyal lieutenants was cursing him, what made this new faction better?

"Why are you mining the core?" Soundwave asked.

Prowl didn't answer. He saw someone coming towards them, flying through the air.

"There he is," Prowl chuckled.

"Dreadwing?"

"No. Your guardian angel."

As the figure got closer, Soundwave recognised him.

"So this is where he went. I'm beginning to get the picture."

Swooping in with a demonic cackle, Skywarp's ugly form landed. He grinned, horrid teeth revealing a total disregard for hygiene. He was wrapped in a dirty rag of a cloak, torn and fading. His once bright armour was now rust coloured and dusty.

"Looks like someone finally woke from their beauty nap," he laughed. Prowl rolled his optics. Soundwave frowned.

"You betrayed the Decepticons. You took the hatchlings."

"You do what you can, boss. You just do what you can. Besides, here the hatchlings are growing up healthy and open-minded. They would have died on the moon."

"I sincerely doubt you switched sides to protect children," Soundwave uttered.

Skywarp placed a hand over his chest in mock horror. "You just cut my spark in half, boss. Here I thought that saving your ass would be thanks enough."

Soundwave grimaced. "I've had enough of these games. What is going on here? How am I alive?"

Skywarp grinned. "You've only been out for a couple of days, boss," he muttered. "There's plenty of time to explore…"

"Take me to Dreadwing," Soundwave uttered, annoyed now. "Or I will make sure you join us in the resurrection corp."

Skywarp raised his arms in a placating gesture. "Fine then. I thought you might be thankful and all, but apparently death is too good for you. Let's go see Commander Dreadwing."

Soundwave was taken aback. "Commander?"

"Yep. Reports directly to Lord Ramjet."

"L-Lord Ramjet?"

"You've missed a lot. Come on."

* * *

><p>The control tower overlooked the core. Standing with imperial grace, it watched over thousands of drones as they mined the remains of Cybertron's still heart. The structure rose up from the ground, a mix of scrap and rusty metal, bent into shape to provide complete supremacy over the surroundings. And at the top of the tower was the cybertronian in control.<p>

Soundwave, flanked by Prowl and Skywarp, took an elevator to the very top.

The control room was wider than Soundwave would have expected, with a dozen drones at different consoles, each one old and barely working. At the centre stood a drone bigger and more imposing than the rest. One who hadn't known the slavery of drones for a very long time.

Dreadwing was more robot than Cybertronian. Soundwave was unfamiliar with his history, but apparently he had been a drone, no different from the rest, until a strange incident happened and he became self-aware. Possessing a strange hold over the drones, he had become their de facto leader, using them to win battles against the Autobots. When Shockwave left to claim the Allspark, he left Dreadwing in charge of Cybertron, much to the other Decepticons' distaste. After many, many years in charge, Starscream finally returned, the only survivor of the disastrous mission to Earth. The two of them hadn't seen eye to eye and Dreadwing paid the ultimate price.

And here he was again. Not a cybertronian; an AI.

"Dreadwing," Soundwave stated.

None of the drones moved or turned. But Dreadwing stopped. He slowly turned.

"Soundwave," Dreadwing said, his huge optic masking his emotions. "Glad to finally meet you."

"We've already met," Soundwave stated cryptically. "I want answers. Now."

"Understandable," Dreadwing replied. "But I'm afraid I don't have all of them. Besides, I have work to do. Speak to Ramjet."

He turned back to his console, uninterested.

Skywarp cleared his throat. "Uh, that might not be the best idea—"

Dreadwing was spun around as Soundwave lifted him off the ground by his throat. Immediately, the drones in the room pointed their weapons at Soundwave. Prowl did as well, but Skywarp was content to simply watch.

"Put me down," Commander Dreadwing ordered.

"I think not," Soundwave said in cool voice. "I've been delayed enough in this madhouse; answers. Now."

"Do you want to get yourself killed again?"

"You brought me back for a reason. I don't fear death anymore. It is nothing."

"What makes you think we'll bring you back after this affront?"

"Death is nothing. It's merely a delay I've had a couple of times. I wonder if you think the same way?"

"Kill me, I return. Kill you, I assure you won't."

"You forget, Dreadwing, that you were once nothing. You were always nothing. I found your skull in the red wastes; it was hollow."

Dreadwing frowned, his single optic glaring. The tense silence stretched.

"Fine. Let me go. I'll tell you some things, but Ramjet has the rest."

Soundwave lowered Dreadwing to the floor. The drones withdrew their weapons, as did a suspicious Prowl. Skywarp let out a low chuckle.

Dreadwing turned back to his console. "As you might have guessed, we are neither Autobots nor Decepticons."

"Obvious. What else?"

Dreadwing frowned again. "We are going to conquer the galaxy."

Soundwave said nothing. But it did affect one person in the room.

"What?" Prowl suddenly cried. "You never said anything about this! I thought we were to rebuild our home!"

Dreadwing flinched. "Take up your grievances with Lord Ramjet," he whispered. "I am not in command."

Prowl gave a furious glare around the room, before striding out towards an exit. He leapt off the building, powering his way up towards the sky. No-one bothered to watch him go.

"We have been resurrected by the Destroyer," Dreadwing continued. "And we are his heralds."

"Who is the Destroyer?" Soundwave demanded.

"Why don't you see for yourself? Follow Prowl; he will lead you to the Destroyer."

Soundwave turned in anger, giving up on the drone ascendant. "Pray you don't see me again, Dreadwing."

"I pray for your safe return."

Soundwave hesitated, only slightly. Then he was on his way.

* * *

><p>"It's… disgusting," Soundwave finally decided.<p>

He and Skywarp looked down on what remained of Cybertron. From space, where Soundwave felt most comfortable, he was repulsed by the sight before him. Cybertron wasn't a ruin or even a wrecked planet; it was bleeding steel, worse than a junkyard. There was nothing (outside of the dying core) worth salvaging; it was a wreck of enormous size and destruction, twisted and broken beyond anything Soundwave had ever seen.

"I admit, it needs a little work," Skywarp laughed. "But it's pretty good for second-hand!"

"It's impossible to rebuild."

"Not impossible, I've learned, but yeah, it'll take time," Skywarp said. "_If _we were going to rebuild it…"

Soundwave looked at him, surprised. "You're lying to Prowl?"

"He was one of the first resurrected, Ramjet told me," Skywarp replied. "So they had to keep him around. Apparently, the Destroyer wants unity between both Autobots and Decepticons, so Ramjet and Prowl had to grimace and shake hands. Although they have become friends since then. But in the end, why rebuild old memories when you can carve out new ones?"

Soundwave's optics widened. "So you are going to conquer the galaxy?"

"Shit else to do," Skywarp chuckled. "And we've got the best weapon. It's the next logical step."

"What weapon?"

Skywarp pointed behind him, towards one of Cybertron's many moons.

"Ramjet's in command. Not to sound like a broken audio emulator, but he has the answers."

Soundwave frowned. "I don't understand," he admitted. "How does one as… unregimented as Ramjet come into command of an army of resurrected warriors?"

Skywarp laughed.

"Because, _unregimented _as he is, he was the first one resurrected. He is the Destroyer's herald, his voice, his hand… and his might. He's no longer Ramjet, measly Seeker of Starscream's rabble. He's Lord Ramjet—

"—Herald of Unicron."

* * *

><p>On the moon, a palace stretched into space.<p>

So far it was the only thing Soundwave had seen that didn't seem to have been bolted together and strung up for practicality. Pillars hundreds of meters tall stretched towards a roof thousands of meters wide, regal atmosphere oozing from the polished metal. Banners showing an insignia that mixed both Autobot and Decepticon logos were strung with red cloth, forcing Soundwave to crane his neck to see their tops. The voices of distant rulers could be heard in the distance, so far into the room Soundwave couldn't even see them.

It was a palace with one purpose; to impress.

_How petty._

Soundwave strode forward, each footfall echoing off vast chamber walls.

The incomprehensible echoes of distant powers stopped. Soundwave continued. As did the voices.

As Soundwave got closer to the centre of it all, he began to make out the words.

The first voice was a nasal, nihilistic, psychotic tone, the likes of which Soundwave had heard many times before;

"_So __you shall hold down the Asian continent, while Six—_"

A second voice blared out. Soundwave recognise it; it was Prowl.

"_Don't you dare ignore me, Ramjet! You lied to me?_"

A third voice boomed throughout the regal architecture. Soundwave stopped; he had heard that voice before… but it was taking all of his concentration to remember it. He may have heard this one speak only once before…

"_You are overstepping your bounds, Prowl. Lord Ramjet lied to you to get you on our side.__ Now get over it. You have no choice but to join our plan."_

Dirge.

One of Starscream's more… _brutal_Seekers. He had been killed early on in the war. Soundwave continued on, beginning to wonder just how many old warriors had been brought back to life… and what power could do such a thing.

"_You're going to wipe out the humans?_"

"_Why not?_" Ramjet asked. "_We'll convince the Autobots and the Decepticons to join us, but what use have the humans been to any of us? They've had their shot to try and kill us many times. Now it's our turn."_

"_You've never even seen them! Neither have I! If Optimus went out of his way to protect them, they surely don't deserve genocide!"_

"_Genocide? You misunderstand me, Prowl; we are merely going to enslave them. Once they have fulfilled their purpose… they'll be fuel._"

"_You… I…_"

"_Prowl, the days of the war are over. There is no longer right or wrong. There is only the Destroyer._"

"_I see now… I see that not one of you have changed your ways. You are all evil._"

"_If that is the case,_" Dirge uttered. "_Stop us._"

There was a silence, broken only by Soundwave's continuous footfalls. He could see them now; not three cybertronians, but four. One hadn't spoken.

They could hear him coming.

Finally, Prowl turned and stalked away.

Without glancing at each other, both Soundwave and Prowl passed by. Soundwave let a small smile appear on his lips.

_Even in the largest castles, the foundation is rotting away._

He arrived at a large table in the centre of the room, three cybertronians at each face of the square.

On the left was Dirge. A hulking Seeker but smaller than Crashdive, his pitch black armour was sleek and curved, aerodynamically astute even when in bipedal form. His cold red optics studied Soundwave impassively.

Across from Soundwave was Lord Ramjet. Another one of Starscream's unlucky Seekers, his distinctive cone-head, silver-red armour and axe in hand reminded Soundwave of a younger, more arrogant warrior. Although Ramjet still bore the sadistic smile he had worn in his youth, his optics were learned and wiser. He also wore, much to Soundwave's disgust, a crimson cape of royalty.

On the right was a cybertronian with two revolvers holstered at his hips. He watched Soundwave suspiciously.

Soundwave managed to successfully hide his surprise. _The last I saw of him, he was working with the Autobots, whoever he is. I'll have to watch out for this one._

"Soundwave," Ramjet said with a slasher's smile. "So glad you could join us. These two here are Commanders Dirge and Sixshot. You might recognise Sixshot from his venture with the Autobots on Earth; I planted him there as an agent of mine, to discover more about the strength of Earth. As you should assume, I didn't have one in the Decepticon camp; I didn't need one. I knew that all it would take was an invitation…"

"So Skywarp's told you everything," Soundwave muttered.

"Exactly," Ramjet proclaimed with his arms splayed out wide. "You know the value of knowledge, don't you Soundwave? Knowledge is power… and we have all of it."

"Knowledge is an inexhaustible resource, Ramjet," Soundwave uttered. "There is no such thing as the most powerful person."

Ramjet waved his hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter; there are more important things to discuss…"

"Unicron?"

The huge room went silent. Sixshot raised his optics and smiled slightly. Ramjet flinched, as if slapped.

But Dirge spoke.

"Who mentioned that name?" he boomed, fingers flexing with rage. Soundwave knew he had to tread carefully; any one of these warriors could probably beat him in a fight.

_But then again, why should I? I've been resurrected twice; they won't mind doing it a third time._

"To my knowledge," Soundwave said. "It is _my _knowledge."

Dirge looked as if he was about to strangle the Decepticon. But Ramjet raised placating hands.

"Both of you, leave us," he ordered.

Reluctantly, Dirge spun away in anger, transformed and shot down the huge corridor. Sixshot turned and began to walk, silent in his undeniably powerful aura. Ramjet and Soundwave waited as his steps eclipsed the moon.

When the hall was finally silent again, Ramjet let off another easy grin.

"I knew Skywarp would never keep his mouth shut," he chuckled. "That fool needs to learn not to speak so easy."

Soundwave kept silent. He knew that waiting yielded the most rewards… just not for too long.

"Three questions are no doubt burning in your mind," Ramjet continued arrogantly. "How am I alive? What is the Destroyer? _Why _am I now alive?

"I'll answer the last one first; you are alive again so that I can offer you a job."

"No doubt as one of your growing cadre of commanders," Soundwave uttered.

Ramjet smiled. "Not exactly." He transformed.

"Follow me!"

Transforming as well, Soundwave followed.

* * *

><p>"This, my friend, is the Destroyer!"<p>

Ramjet exaggerated his proclamation with a show of hands, indicating the moon. It began to dawn of Soundwave.

"This… this entire moon…"

"Is the creature known as Unicron. It is not a moon at all."

"The legend of Unicron is a myth," Soundwave dismissed. "Do not try to pass it off to me as something real."

"It was once a myth. But thanks to Optimus Prime, it is very much real."

Soundwave frowned. "How did Optimus Prime create this?"

Ramjet flicked his crimson cape in a dramatic way, but it barely moved in the darkness. Soundwave almost snorted in derision.

"When Optimus had the control pillar smashed and broken, the half of Cybertron that had already been pulled through the space bridge… imploded. It carried itself back here, where it smashed into the half that hadn't yet travelled. And one half of the core travelled with it.

"One thing we have in common with the humans is that we know so much more about the universe then we do the centre of our respective planets. Whereas the humans have a super-heated ball of plasma and energy, ours was more of a huge battery—"

"Did you come to teach me basic thermoenergonic synthesis? What happened with the other half of the core?"

"It span through space, wounded, dying… yet unlike the other half on the ruins of Cybertron, it kept its gravitational pull. Wreckage of our devastated planet was drawn to it, forming an all new planet. But this new core was dying and realised it; in an attempt to keep itself surviving, it consumed the rusted and burnt metal it surrounded itself with. It fed inexhaustibly, consuming all it touched, never getting even an inkling of a second worth of life back. But, eventually, I don't know how, it created something entirely new…

"The core began to beat with life. It's pure and unfiltered energon turned black and hot, changing to help it survive...

"It turned into what Flatline would coin Dark Energon."

Soundwave frowned deeper.

_This is… very troubling…_

"And through this new, much more powerful source of life, it began to reach out… and by reaching out… it gained sentience.

"And while reaching out, it found me. It recognised my corpse, not as scrap metal, but as something that had once lived, something that had once thought like it did now. I suppose the Destroyer is a bit of an antonym really; he breathed some of his cursed life into me. I awoke, my body restored, in a building formed out of many buildings… where his heart could be seen. I saw its power, recognised its power… and then he began to whisper.

"He whispered of what he must destroy to fuel his life; energy, any energy. Suns, supernovas, even rock would do; anything that could be consumed must be consumed. He commanded that I should take the helm of his great form and lead it to wherever food lay. But I knew that he was defenceless; I told him that I alone could not hold off every threat that might want to stop him. So he ordered me to gather any beings whose sparks had been snuffed out, to restore them to life, to help provide an army for his protection. I found them all, Dreadwing, Dirge, Sixshot, Prowl… anyone who could help. From within his furious heart, the Destroyer helped form the surface of himself, creating palaces, factories, industry… engines. Thousands of drones churned out, building weapons and ships, many, many ships, a fleet unmatched and unbeaten. And he ordered me to lead it. Me; Ramjet. Nothing more than a basic grunt, just another soldier in this bloody, hopeless war, a casualty of another forgotten battle. I was given a second chance, a chance at power and at conquest… a chance I would not pass up.

"But I knew that we had to study our enemy in order to beat him… or convert him. Leaving Dirge in charge, I took Dreadwing and Sixshot to scout out Earth. We learned all we needed to know; the planet was even weaker than we had dared hope. Our first target was set, the target our entire universe seemed to centre around, a planet so small and filled with such nasty little insects…

"But we needed scouts. Although I was prepared to send Sixshot as an undercover agent, Dreadwing offered an alternative. An alternative you would find appealing; _insect _agents, people who hated both Autobots and Decepticons for whatever reasons. We found them… and they waged their own little proxy war to keep the heat off our investigations.

Soundwave considered this. Then it hit him.

"The Answerers?" he asked, genuinely shocked.

"Skywarp was smart to bring you back here. We need someone like you. Now where was I…?

"Ah yes. We had it all under control… until an anomaly entered the picture. An anomaly that even you found especially… taxing."

Soundwave understood immediately. "Harbinger."

"Exactly. Luckily, Harbinger has bitten the dust since then. In a rather ironic move that you should enjoy greatly, Harbinger was killed by your agent in HARP."

Soundwave chuckled. "Oh really?"

"He's still there by the way, somehow having survived through all of this. But soon, that will all be immaterial:

"Our invasion fleet is ready. When they arrive at Earth they will conquer the planet, convince both Autobots and Decepticons to join us, prepare a space bridge in the same vein as Sentinel used… and we will guide Unicron there, to devour the Earth. His mind is unintelligible, his hunger never sated and his maw is incomprehensible. And this is where you come in…"

Soundwave waited. Ramjet smiled.

"Soundwave, for one time only, I am offering the job of…

"Ruler of our faction, the leader of all Cybertronians; Lord High Protector."

Soundwave turned, stunned.

"I will step down from my post," Ramjet continued. "And serve as commander. You shall become our leader."

"…"

"It is entirely optional. But it is the role that Unicron has asked you for, due to your greater experience and knowledge."

"…Can I speak with Unicron personally?"

"As the first one resurrected, he only speaks to me. I am his voice."

And it was at that point Soundwave knew the truth.

The whole truth.

He pulled back his head and let out a barking laugh, one that caught Ramjet completely unawares. Soundwave's hideous laugh echoed through Ramjet's audio receptors, causing him to frown.

"What's so funny?" he asked, finally losing his cool.

Soundwave stopped. He looked at Ramjet.

"Fine then," he uttered, still chuckling. "I will take your offer. You now directly report to me. As does everyone."

Ramjet nodded. "As you wish, my lord—"

Dreadwing popped into existence beside them. Soundwave dully remembered that he could teleport.

"Lord Ramjet!" Dreadwing cried. "Prowl—"

"Incorrect, Dreadwing," Ramjet chided. "I am Commander Ramjet. Lord Soundwave is in command now."

Dreadwing spent four seconds in stunned silence. He weighed everything in his mind. Then he came to a decision.

"Lord Soundwave," he reported. "Prowl has stolen one of our mining ships. Last I saw I of it, it was heading towards our current space bridge!"

"Who's in charge over there?" Soundwave asked.

"Lieutenant Payback," Dreadwing gasped. "They are of equal rank and they were both Autobots before… this…"

"That doesn't matter an inch," Ramjet argued. "What matters is that Prowl might bluff his way through."

"Then contact the space bridge," Soundwave uttered in annoyance. "Tell them to not let him through."

Ramjet and Dreadwing looked at each other. Soundwave finally realised it.

"It's on the dark side of Cybertron, isn't it?" he muttered. "And we don't have any long-range communications equipment, do we?"

"I'll teleport there as fast as I can," Dreadwing offered. "But I can only manage ten kliks in one jump. I'll have to hop there as I hopped here—"

With a purple flash, he winked out of existence.

"Commander Ramjet," Soundwave uttered. "Prepare the fleet. We're leaving as soon as we can."

"Of course, my lord."

"Report to me afterwards."

"Yes, sir."

He shot off towards the Destroyer. Soundwave looked to the huge creature.

It looked like a simple moon, with several large craters. That's all it was. Soundwave reflected on the monster's perfect disguise…

_Although, then again, it's not a monster at all._

* * *

><p>"<em>Unidentified ship, please state your aims and orders.<em>"

_Payback_, Prowl thought, _Thank Primus it's him… if I can't get past him, he'll understand._

"This is Lieutenant Prowl, in charge of a mission to Saturn to deliver dangerous energon samples, so as not to cause any casualties."

"…_Prowl? What are you doing in charge of a scrap mission? And why in the Sol System?_"

_He was always a sharp one._

"Lord Ramjet's new 'proclamation'," Prowl laughed nervously. "Just in case the stuff goes critical, he'd prefer it if it exploded somewhere closer to Earth than here."

There was silence. Prowl waited with baited non-breath.

"_Well, it's not the craziest idea he's had,_" Payback admitted. "_I'll let you through, but you better not be pulling anything stupid._"

"I was always the serious one, remember?"

"_Too serious. Here's hoping you don't crash into Tethys._"

"Yeah," Prowl laughed. _What in Pit's name is he talking about?_

"_Alright,_ _the coordinates are locked in; good luck!_"

Prowl sighed with relief and directed his ship through the dark void, towards the huge blue portal. It stood over a huge platform, where Payback was obviously watching from.

_Optimus, these humans better be impressive—_

"_Payback__, shut this down now!_"

Dreadwing.

"_Sir…?_"

Prowl gunned it.

There were always dangers of going too fast through a space bridge, especially with the experimental Pillars involved. But there was no time to waste.

"_I said shut it down!_"

"_We can't sir, this takes time; if we do, then the whole thing will go into overload!_"

Prowl raced towards the portal.

"_DO SOMETHING!_"

He was almost through…

But, at the last second, Payback mashed in new coordinates. He had no idea what they were, just as long as they weren't Prowl's destination.

Prowl slipped through the portal.

The rest, as they say, is history.

* * *

><p>"Payback, if, by some miracle, you aren't executed in the next couple of hours, you're going to be executed anyway, then resurrected, then busted down so that you're working in the mines."<p>

"Y-Yes sir, Commander Ramjet."

"What were the new coordinates?" Lord Soundwave asked.

Payback showed them.

Ramjet worked them out first.

"YOU IDIOT!" he screeched. "YOU ACTUALLY SENT HIM STRAIGHT TO EARTH! YOU ACTUALLY _HELPED _HIM GET THERE!"

"Ramjet, shut up."

"Y-Yes, Lord Soundwave."

"Payback, you couldn't have chosen a better location to send him."

"S-Sir…?"

"How fast was he going through the portal?"

"Approximately seven hundred and thirty kliks an hour…"

"Considering where he exited, do you really expect him to survive the crash? I have the statistics if you want."

Ramjet left.

"Payback, for your quick thinking I'm promoting you to Captain."

"C-Captain? You mean of a ship?"

"Yes."

"B-But they're drone-controlled!"

"Oh really? In that case, you're promoted to Grand Admiral."

"A-Bu-Ab-But-A—"

"I expect a report on the readiness of our forces as soon as possible. Good luck, Admiral."

* * *

><p>The ships prepared for take-off. Drone soldiers loaded into them by the thousands.<p>

War was coming to Earth.

Soundwave made his plans.

He held the universe in his hand.

And in the palace atop the Destroyer…

"And what is this?" Ramjet asked, studying the board Soundwave had laid out.

"The humans call it Chess."

"Humans? They've grown on you, my lord. They are no more than insects."

"Even insects have subspecies. The humans have their own."

"They must be too small to see."

"Maybe. Pawn to E4."

Ramjet studied the board. His optics stared hard.

"I barely know the rules. I will not beat you."

"Humour me."

"You don't really believe in what we're doing, do you? Pawn to D5."

"Does that even matter? Bishop to E2."

"Yes, my lord, it does. Pawn takes pawn."

"Now look here, Ramjet; one pawn faces down the entire of my army. One solitary, common soldier faces my entire force of soldiers, knights, rooks and even the king himself."

"He's doomed to die, my lord."

"Maybe not. Charge with him. Bishop to H5."

"As I'm not allowed to disobey the orders of a superior," Ramjet sneered. "Pawn to E3. You need to move only one pawn to kill him."

"Queen to F3. Charge."

Ramjet stared at his lord, angry. "This is a stupid and pointless game. Why must they move in regimented order, set moves? Although it might increase intelligence, it does nothing to help strategic planning or tactical manoeuvring! It is pointless!"

"Charge."

"But of course, my lord has a metaphorical allegory to teach me. Pawn to E2."

"Your pawn now stares down my king. The soldier and the king are about to duel."

"Duel? What nonsense is this? Unless your king plans on taking it, I have nothing to say to you."

"Then I shall finish this. Queen to F7. The pawn is dead. Checkmate."

Ramjet stared at the board for a second.

"N-No it isn't! My king can—"

"It is checkmate, but explain to me how it isn't."

"My king can move to D7!"

"Why can he move there?"

"B-Because… because my pawn moved…"

"Exactly. Checkmate."

"My lord, whatever you're trying to teach me here, I'm lost," Ramjet snarled.

His lord pointed to the pawn that stared down his king.

"It is checkmate for me. It is your turn and the king is set squarely in the sights of the pawn. Take the king and you win. It is checkmate."

Ramjet struggled to understand. "B-But… that's illegal. Pawns can only attack—"

"Pawns attack wherever you order them to attack," Soundwave replied. "Otherwise, they aren't your pawns."

"But it's against the rules of the game!"

"The true game has no rules. The only rules we follow are the ones we make ourselves. Take the king."

"B-But…"

"Take the king. Stop following the rules of Chess and follow the rules of the game."

Ramjet stared blankly. And then he got it.

"But isn't this cheating?"

"Since when has following rules been cheating?"

"Surely both players must be content with the new rule…"

"Ah. Now why would you reveal to your opponent the new rule?"

Ramjet grinned an ugly grin. "Heheh… I see now."

"But just remember, Ramjet; even the soldier can kill the king."

"Yes… pawn to E1. The king is captured."

Ramjet flicked the little chess piece into the air and caught it. He stared at it.

"Welcome to our side."

Soundwave studied his opposite.

"Ramjet…"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Unicron…"

"What about him?"

"**You made him up."**

Ramjet crushed the king in his grasp.

* * *

><p>Soundwave and Dreadwing stared up at the burning moon.<p>

Not a sun, no. It was something old and ancient, created by this fool of a 'con, long ago.

_Maybe I should burn the Destroyer as well, make sure that Ramjet's foolishness is cast aside._

"It's beautiful," Dreadwing whispered. "Don't you think so, my lord?"

"As an accomplishment of science, it is crude," Soundwave replied gruffly. "And lacks the warmth and energy of a real sun. But as a spectacle of triumph, I admit it is unmatched."

Dreadwing looked down at the ground.

_He's worried. As he should be._

"Is…"

"Speak Dreadwing, or forever hold your wasted peace."

"Is… is what we're doing the right thing?"

Soundwave shook his head. "Morals are a thing of the past, Dreadwing. The Destroyer erases it all. He can consume both good and bad, great and small, heroic and tragic. Fuel doesn't have a view on ethics. Soon there will be only two types of creature in this universe; those who have risen above all else, including philosophy… and fuel. Which are you?"

Dreadwing was silent. He realised he had no choice.

_What a fool. What was Ramjet thinking?_

"Do you think Prowl had time to warn them, my lord?"

"Dreadwing, as you are in charge of the Pillars themselves, surely you should know the answers to that."

"…Well, at the velocity he was going, plus the destination imprinted, plus Earth's gravitational pull… he may have died in the crash."

"70% chance of death through descent. Another 12% for stasis lock. 18% for alive."

"Not for long. Besides, Earth would never be prepared in time."

"Earth wouldn't be prepared in a hundred years. I just worry for the amount of casualties we may sustain."

"Most of them are drones, sir."

"Each drone is a weapon. It's always better to have more weapons than less."

"Of course, my lord."

Dreadwing looked to the blazing moon in the distance.

"Anything wrong, Dreadwing?"

"Well… yes, my lord. I have lived here my whole life, ruled it for thousands of years, died here, returned and ruled again. I… I felt like I changed things. And… I don't want to see it all go to waste."

Soundwave looked at him with cold eyes. _It is over. Cybertron is over. The dream is extinguished._

"This place is nothing but waste. You all told me that. All you've done and all everyone else has achieved was undone by Optimus Prime when he stopped Sentinel and smashed the Pillars. It is over. There is nothing left for us here."

"…Of course, my lord. Orders?"

Soundwave looked to the armada.

"Ascend."

Dreadwing relayed the orders to Payback. Thousands of ships, from the lowliest destroyer to the largest battleship, ascended into the air.

"Destination; Earth. Objective; Conquest."

One by one, the portals awaited them.

* * *

><p>And on the bridge of the flagship…<p>

"Do you wish to know the truth, my lord?" Ramjet muttered with a spiteful grin.

_I already know the truth._

"…About what?" Soundwave asked, taking the bait.

"The Destroyer."

There was a silence. They would be arriving soon.

"Tell me."

"It isn't the Destroyer."

There was another silence.

"Then what is the Destroyer?" Soundwave continued, amusing the puppeteer.

"It's you, my lord," Ramjet laughed. "It was always you. As soon as we laid eyes on you, we knew it to be true. A sign from Primus himself… if I may say so!" He chuckled sarcastically.

The light flashed. It poured in, blue and wondrous. It felt as if the universe itself was stretching out…

And then they arrived.

"My lord, we have arrived," Dreadwing informed.

_Thank you Dreadwing, for pointing out the obvious._

They stood aboard the bridge of the _Caliginous_, supreme warship of the Destroyer's forces. Payback confirmed it.

"A large battle is taking place below," the helmsman said. "Between Autobots, Decepticons and humans. They have momentarily hesitated."

"With good reason!" barked Ramjet. "My lord, the world is yours!"

Soundwave walked upon the bridge, intelligent optics gleaming.

_Megatron. The time has come. I was once loyal to you, only so that my dream may be realised. And now, at the end of it all, my dream has come true. How droll. The very concept of loyalty, shall soon be consumed._

"Loyalty… a word that is now lost…"

Payback turned on a microphone. Speakers from _Caliginous _would proclaim every word that would follow.

Soundwave took the stage. The stage he had always hated.

And was now controlled by.

"Autobots, Decepticons… humans. Lay down your arms and surrender."

"That voice!" Optimus cried.

"It can't be!" Megatron hissed.

"I am Lord High Protector Soundwave of the planet Cybertron," the lord announced. "This world is now under the Destroyer's control. It is under _my _control. As his second Praetoricon, I will deliver this world to him. Bow to me and you will be spared. If not, perish.

"I have returned."

_And so angels really sing…  
>For the man who would be king…<em>


	41. Xanadu Reprise

Episode 37

Some say that the world was created in six days, and on the seventh He rested.

None would argue that the world was conquered in six months, and during the seventh They rested.

One month for every major city.

Three for every bit of landmass.

One for every square mile of ocean.

One to create the slave pits.

One to create the Stairway to Heaven, which proved Earth was conquered once and for all.

And that was it.

_And that's all it was._

_That's all, folks!_

_Nothing to see here…_

* * *

><p>Marcus woke up.<p>

He got up, went over to the fridge, pulled out some milk. He went over to the cabinet, grabbed some cereal, mixed the two together and _voilà_; breakfast.

He ate it.

He wondered around the house, read a bit of the book he was currently interested in. There was nothing better than reading, he reasoned; because you made up half the story. In your mind, everything came to life.

Including what's behind you.

Behind you.

Marcus turned around. No-one was there.

There had never been anyone.

That night he cried himself to sleep.

Marcus woke up.

He got up, went over to the fridge, pulled out some milk. He went over to the cabinet, grabbed some cereal, mixed the two together and _voilà_; breakfast.

He ate it.

He wondered around the house, read a bit of the book he was currently interested in. There was nothing better than reading, he reasoned; because you made up half the story. In your mind, everything came to life.

Including what's behind you.

Behind you.

Marcus turned around. No-one was there.

There had never been anyone there.

He cried himself to sleep.

Marcus woke up.

He got up, went over to the fridge, pulled out some milk. He went over to the cabinet, grabbed some cereal, mixed the two together and _voilà_; breakfast.

He ate it.

"_You ate what?"_

He wondered around the house, read a bit of the book he was currently interested in. There was nothing better than reading, he reasoned; because you made up half the story. In your mind, everything came to life.

Including what's behind you.

BEHIND YOU.

Marcus turned around. No-one was there.

There had never been anyone.

He cried himself to sleep.

Marcus woke up.

"_Don't you get tired?"_

He got up, went over to the fridge, pulled out some milk. He went over to the cabinet, grabbed some cereal, mixed the two together and _voilà_; breakfast.

"_Tired of it all?"_

He ate it.

"_I know I do."_

He wondered around the house, read a bit of the book he was currently interested in. There was nothing better than reading, he reasoned; because you made up half the story. In your mind, everything came to life.

"_If life is one thing, it isn't repetition."_

Including what's behind you.

Behind you.

"_So why bother living?"_

Marcus turned around. No-one was there.

There had never been anyone.

"_There's always someone…"_

He cried himself to sleep.

The tears stained his bedsheet.

Yet in the morning, it was always dry.

* * *

><p>Malevolus woke up.<p>

He stared out eyes that weren't his own.

He saw the creatures arrive, saw them clean… clean so quietly…

The night belonged to him. But only when they had gone. He never approached them, fear gripping his soul.

He screamed and shouted. Cried and wailed. Banged and crashed at the walls.

But it never did no good. Life is shit… but could death be worse?

These thoughts carried him to sleep.

Malevolus woke up.

He stared out eyes that weren't his own.

He saw the creatures arrive, saw them clean… clean so quietly…

The night belonged to him. But only when they had gone. He never approached them, fear gripping his soul.

He screamed and shouted. Cried and wailed. Banged and crashed at the walls.

But it never did no good. Life is shit… but could death be worse?

These thoughts carried him to sleep.

Malevolus woke up.

He stared out eyes that weren't his own.

He saw the creatures arrive, saw them clean… clean so quietly…

The night belonged to him. But only when they had gone. He never approached them, fear gripping his soul.

"_You sad, pathetic creature."_

He screamed and shouted. Cried and wailed. Banged and crashed at the walls.

But it never did no good. Life is shit… but could death be worse?

These thoughts carried him to sleep.

Malevolus woke up.

"_Why are we here?"_

He stared out eyes that weren't his own.

"_Why do we deserve this hell?"_

He saw the creatures arrive, saw them clean… clean so quietly…

The night belonged to him. But only when they had gone. He never approached them, fear gripping his soul.

He screamed and shouted. Cried and wailed. Banged and crashed at the walls.

"_You're as bad as me."_

But it never did no good. Life is shit… but could death be worse?

"_That's why we are treated equally."_

These thoughts carried him to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun…<br>Early to bed and you'll miss all the fun…_

* * *

><p>"<em>But we're alive, you ungrateful shit! That's all that matters!"<em>

"_This is hell. So we might as well be dead."_

"_NEVER SAY THAT!"_

"_Face it Malevolus; whatever you've done, you've killed us. You have murdered us."_

"_This is our paradise! Our haven! We have all we'll ever need!"_

"_But not what we want."_

"_It's not about what you want… but what you did…"_

Silence, everywhere.

"_What would you call this place?"_

"_Xanadu."_

"_What is it really?"_

"…_Xibalba."_

* * *

><p><span>Xibalba<span>

_A thousand years have come and gone  
>But time has passed me by<br>Stars stopped in the sky  
>Frozen in an everlasting view<br>Waiting for the world to end  
>Weary of the night<br>Praying for the light  
>Prison of the lost…<em>

Xanadu

* * *

><p>"May I suggest, Lord Soundwave," Ingrid said in a clear voice. "That the overlord of the slaves be me?"<p>

The two of them paced down a hallway on the prow of the _Caliginous_, the leader of the Answerers striding to keep up. Six months of waiting for an audience had finally paid off and she wasn't going to waste a second. Besides, even in this age, holding a little power felt satisfying.

"And why should it be you?" Soundwave intoned.

"Because I have led their guards before," Ingrid said smugly. "Even though they have gone through… modifications, they should answer to my authority without question."

"They already answer to my authority without question."

"Yes, but only because they do not understand you. If a human was to lead them they may work extra harder; with less cybertronians out of sight, the slaves won't be _completely _stricken with fear…"

Soundwave stopped. Ingrid followed suit, waiting expectantly.

"The idea is acceptable," he announced. "But imperfect."

"And what would make it perfect, my lord?"

Soundwave looked down at her, amusement in his optics. "A better overlord."

Five claws sliced straight through Ingrid's chest. She let out a short, small gasp as blood pooled onto the floor. Falling forward, her head clanged off the ship's tough metal.

"I reward my agents," Soundwave concluded. "But you were never _my _agent."

He looked down at the mad killer.

"You shall be the overlord," Soundwave announced.

Kaminari Ishihara bowed low.

"I live to serve," she whispered through steel teeth.

* * *

><p><em>And life goes on…<em>

_Through toil and death…_

_Life goes on…_

* * *

><p>Ryder hefted the pick once more and split apart a rock. A small, dark geode of some metal caught his eye. Picking it up, he dropped it in one of the containers at his side.<p>

The long, everlasting tunnel rang out with the sounds of picks and hammers, smashing into the cave walls. Phosphorous lamps gave off a blue hue that increased the already stifling heat in the underground. Many men had fainted from exhaustion, some had died, yet the work never ended and never delayed. If a man dropped, he was replaced by another and the corpse removed. The deformed, cybertronian hybrids of former Answerers paced by with autonomous minds every few minutes. Anyone resting or slacking was beaten. Anyone dropped was dragged.

Neither the heat nor the work bothered Ryder. He could have kept it up for a long while afterwards. But two months of labour had left him bored and numb, so he was planning on breaking out. With a friend of course.

Beside him, Epps wheezed out another breath, slowly raising his pick for another swing. Ryder could tell that if he stayed down here much longer, then he wouldn't make it. That was another reason to break out.

Epps rested on his pick, breathing deep. He didn't have the strength to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"K-Kid…" he whispered in-between breaths. "I… I… can't… go… on…"

"Of course you can," Ryder placated, not looking up from his work. "You're stronger than the others. You were the strongest in HARP. You're the last of the old guard."

"The… old… guard, huh?" he wheezed. "I… knew… I… shouldn't… have… gone… back…"

"If you hadn't, you wouldn't have met me," Ryder said quietly, yet loud enough to be heard over the hammering of tools. "And then you're life would never have been truly fulfilled. One gaze upon my figure and the angels cried."

Epps tried to chuckle, but instead hacked up phlegm. Ryder began to realise he was much worse than he had let on.

Two Answerer guards passed by. Epps immediately got back to work. The two humanoid figures had been 'remodelled' by Commander Flatline's ingenious and hideous labours, giving minds no better than drones, yet being able to go where the Transformers couldn't.

Once they passed down the corridor, Epps fell to the floor.

Ryder dropped with him, turning him onto his back. No-one else bothered to even look; it was better if they didn't.

"Get up," Ryder muttered. "Or they'll drag you to the furnace…"

"It… can't… be hotter… than… here…"

Ryder looked up. No-one was going to help. No-one was going to care. Expressionless faces, reduced to accepting their new, miserable lives simply worked in the mine. Whatever looked harder than rock went in the containers; it didn't matter what, so long as it was tougher than bone.

"You're not going to die, Epps," Ryder continued in a hushed tone. "I need someone to talk to about myself."

"You can drop the act," Epps whispered, his breathing slowing. "You're no longer the prick of the century. Who knew getting down here… down here… would… would help…"

"Epps. Wake up."

"I'm… already awake…"

Ryder slapped his cheek. "You're a soldier; soldiers don't die at the bottom of a shaft, forgotten and disposed."

"Name… ten… Korean veterans…"

Ryder paused.

"Ex… exactly… all soldiers… die forgotten…"

Ryder knew there was nothing more he could say. There was nothing more he wanted to say.

"Promise… promise me… you'll reach my kids… help them…"

"I… I can't make promises I can't keep."

"You idiot," Epps chuckled painfully. "Of course… you can't… keep it. I just want… to hear you say… you'll do something… for someone else… prove… you've changed…"

Ryder frowned. Then he sighed, regretfully.

"I promise."

"Good… now… you better get back to work… I can hear them… I can hear them on the rails… Monique… put the children to bed… I can hear… I can hear them… I can hear them on the stairs… I can…"

He let out a sad little sigh.

Then he breathed his last.

And so Staff-Sergeant Robert Epps died in an underground tunnel of dehydration, starvation and fatigue.

Ryder left and never looked back.

The Answerers came to collect.

And when he was gone, another took his place.

With pick in hand.

* * *

><p><em>You were winning…<em>

_The very last time…_

_But to die in a place of fear, oh my…_

_Don't look back._

_You may not like what you find…_

* * *

><p>"What has he become?" Megatron growled.<p>

He paced across the bow of a battleship, high above the ground, hands behind his back. Sitting down nearby, Shockwave had his optic switched off, conserving some energy. Starscream knelt near the edge of the ship, looking down at the clouds far below.

"Something far more dangerous than before," Starscream answered. "Power does that to people…"

"Soundwave apparently has power beyond anything we've ever encountered," Megatron fumed. "And yet HE WON'T DELIVER IT TO ME! HIS OWN LORD!"

His outburst caused Shockwave to turn on his optic.

"My lord," Shockwave uttered. "I do not see why it matters."

Megatron turned on him, fury blazing in his optics. "Why it matters? It's _power_, Shockwave! Nothing else matters!"

Shockwave was silent. He switched off his optic and went back to planning.

"How do we even know this 'Unicron' actually exists?" Starscream muttered. "All we have are these… what are calling them?"

"They just call themselves 'cybertronians," Megatron hissed. "Apparently, factions don't exist anymore…"

"Well these… cybertronians simply claim that he's waiting at Cybertron. How do we know they're not fooling us?"

"Why would they?" Shockwave intoned. "After all, they could have killed us at any time."

Megatron snarled and turned away, stomping towards the other end of the ship. Starscream watched him go, musing on his leader's shortcomings; over the past six months, he hadn't taken authority well.

He then looked to Shockwave. The most powerful and, possibly, the smartest of them all seemed in an almost meditative state, his pitch-black face giving nothing away.

"And what does the almighty Shockwave think on the matter?" Starscream asked bitterly.

"I think," Shockwave answered, without moving, "That I'm going to kill you all."

Starscream grunted, almost in resignation. He no longer really cared about whatever everyone else was planning."

He spotted a figure on a far-away battleship.

His hand curled into a fist.

"I'll be back," he whispered, as if in a trance.

Transforming, he took off, leaving Shockwave on the ship, alone.

A few minutes later, the Decepticon commander got up. He looked towards the _Caliginous_, thinking.

Finally, two plans formed in his mind. Both of them started the same.

He began to wait.

* * *

><p><em>Your story's told, who cares!<em>

_You're no-one, anymore…_

_You're anyone, no more…_

_Creep._

_To creep._

_Creeping…_

_Slowly…_

_Prowling…_

_The plans of others…_

_Slithering…_

_Your story worms back into hell._

* * *

><p>Push, rotate, slam, pull.<p>

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

"IT'S THE LAST GREAT INVENTION LEFT TO MANKIND!"

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

She pushed the button. The machine lowered. She rotated the handle. The machine turned. She pulled the handle. The machine hissed and clinkered. It raised itself again. She pushed the button. The machine lowered. She rotated the handle. The machine turned. She pulled the handle. The machine hissed and clinkered. It raised itself again. She pushed the button. The machine lowered. She rotated the handle. The machine turned. She pulled the—

"IT'S THE LAST GREAT INVENTION LEFT TO MANKIND!"

_Life is so much easier with routine…_

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

_All you have to do is…_

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

_All your life is…_

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

_The tears dried up long ago…_

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

_And now…_

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

_Nothing's changed._

"IT'S THE LAST GREAT INVENTION LEFT TO MANKIND!" screeched the female Answerer from the control booth, far above their heads. A hundred thousand human ladies, working the same job, the same routine, under an iron roof with barely enough light to work by, again and again and again and again and again.

Stacy pushed the button. The machine lowered. Stacy rotated the handle. The machine turned. Stacy pulled the handle. The machine hissed and clinkered. It raised itself again.

She had resisted at first, like all the others. But, of course, it had been pointless and tiring. Besides, it's much easier living with routine, right?

No-one hits you.

No-one hurts you.

You forget to cry.

Isn't that wonderful? Especially when you're part of something great? After all:

"IT'S THE LAST GREAT INVENTION LEFT TO MANKIND!"

How could you argue with that?

Stacy didn't know what the machine did, or what she did when she operated it. Probably no-one did. It was just there for something to do.

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

She sometimes turned it into a song.

_Push._

_Rotate._

_Slam._

_Pull._

_Push, rotate, slam, pull._

_Push, rotate, slam, pull._

_Push, push, push._

'_Tate, 'tate, tate._

_Slam, slam, slam._

_Pull, pull, pull._

_On and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on—_

"IT'S THE LAST GREAT INVENTION LEFT TO MANKIND!"

She forgot the Transformers.

She forgot Ryder.

She forgot Marcus.

She even forgot the sight of birds.

…

But she always remembered their singing. tHeY sOmEtImEs SaNg FoR hEr.

_I want to be where the birds sing._

_I want to fly._

_I want to be where the birds sing._

_I want to fly._

_I want to be up in birdland._

_I want_—

"IT'S THE LAST GREAT INVENTION LEFT TO MANKIND!"

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

Push, rotate, slam, pull.

Push…

Rotate…

Slam…

Pull…

* * *

><p>Ryder saw the ships leaving. Many hundreds of ships, climbing into the atmosphere, carrying their payload of Pillars to beyond the Earth.<p>

They would need them.

"What now?" he sighed. "Out of sight, out of mind. What am I to do, out of the spotlight?"

He sat in the shadows, his duster stained with dirt.

He saw in his mind's eye a figure.

A figure.

A figure with two revolvers. And a mind unlike any other.

Ryder frowned.

"Fine," he whispered. "Earth is conquered, no doubt soon to be destroyed; villains win. Can't say it was unexpected."

He looked up to the sky, to where the fleet was ascending.

"But Sixshot's up there. I can't say goodbye without first saying hello.

"I'm coming for you, turncoat."

* * *

><p><em>So bright…<em>

_So beautiful…_

_So… warm…_

Dreadwing looked up at the sun and, for the first time in millennia, felt content. He sat on the edge of the prow, his legs kicking air thousands of feet above the ground.

"Do you remember it?" he asked, reverent. "Do you remember its glow? It's… serenity?"

"What a load of scrap," Starscream hissed, a few paces behind him. "Besides, didn't I cut your head off?"

"That you did. I grew a new one."

"Impossible."

"My being here proves it not. Here's your trophy."

Dreadwing threw something behind him. It clanged along the bow, before rolling to a stop at Starscream's feet.

It was Dreadwing's head.

"Found it on Mars," Dreadwing chuckled. "How amusing."

"You do not know the urge I feel to kick you off this ship."

"I'd transform, fly back up and then kill you," Dreadwing replied, nonchalant. "How would that help either of us? Besides, I thought I'd already served my punishment."

They were silent for a while, Dreadwing staring up at the sun with simple happiness, Starscream staring at Dreadwing with simple hate.

"I thought you remembered our sun," Dreadwing whispered. "I thought you remembered who took it."

Starscream was silent, contemplating. He looked up at the sun as well.

"I… remember."

"Then why hold a grudge against me? What's done is done. The light is here. We've won."

"This is victory? It seems…"

"Yes?"

"It seems hollow."

"How?"

Starscream came out and said it; "We're not staying here, are we?"

Dreadwing said nothing, before nodding.

"The Destroyer is prepared to arrive," Dreadwing muttered. "First, he will consume the natural satellite. Then he will devour the Earth."

"H-He has this power?"

"Ramjet says so. And Ramjet knows more about this than anyone else."

"The little punk. Who does he think he is?"

"Someone important. Which he is."

Starscream walked up beside Dreadwing and stared up at the sun as well.

"I… It's not our sun," Starscream said.

Dreadwing didn't answer.

So they both rested on the prow of the ship, feeding off the energy such a massive fire could eternally give. Radiation and heat filled their bodies, centuries of lying in the cold wastes of Cybertron forgotten.

"It's not our sun," Dreadwing agreed. "But it is _a _sun."

"So what happens when Earth is finally destroyed? Are we staying?"

Dreadwing flinched, but quickly recovered. "We will travel from system to system, consuming their resources, feeding off their suns—"

"Until the day we rust away," Starscream muttered. "To brave the darkness of space, for just another glimpse of light. Is that really living? Why not stay in the light forever?"

"Because then there would be no dark."

"And why is that bad?"

"Because then there wouldn't be light. If you live in light all your life, then both light and dark cease to exist."

"…That may be true… but I'd be warm."

"It's the same for temperature. If you stay warm your entire life, hot and cold are forgotten as well."

Starscream chuckled. "Is that what Ramjet says?"

Dreadwing didn't answer.

"Well, just take it into consideration; would you prefer to be out there, seeing the light in the distance… or here, simply here and now."

Dreadwing didn't answer.

Starscream transformed, laughing, and shot away.

Dreadwing was left in contemplation, high, high above the ground, far, far below the sun.

"What measure is a single star?" Dreadwing whispered. "To bring life to trillions, although one among trillions. What is the measure of life when there is so much of it? Does it extend beyond our galaxy, growing as the universe grows? In that case, is life even worth measuring? If it isn't, why care for it?"

The sun filled his vision, so beautiful…

"Light… and warmth…

"I wonder if there's anything else in this universe that's worth more."

* * *

><p>"Is it supposed to be ironic?" Barricade muttered.<p>

"It is what it is," Astrotrain yawned. "But you know Soundwave; everything's got to be a little _too _dramatic."

The Stairway to Heaven was five football pitches wide and five football pitches long at the base. It extended far up into the sky like an ugly needle of unimaginable size, stretching past the ships into orbit and even further into… nothing. It stopped out in space, as if cut off from its destination.

"It's not even used," Barricade continued with distaste. "Is it a symbol?"

"Soundwave's too grand for symbols," Astrotrain replied. "I know what it's for anyway."

"Fuckin' what then?" Skyrender spat out of boredom, stroking his scythe.

"That's a secret and you'd better watch your tone with a superior, grunt."

Skyrender muttered something under his breath before rolling back into complaining. "Why can't we just kill the fucking Autobots?" he whined. "Why are they even still alive?"

"Because—" Barricade began, then stopped short.

He turned and walked a few paces, before stopping, staring straight ahead.

Astrotrain and Skyrender watched him, both of them frowning.

Two figures appeared out of the gloom.

"As I commanded," Mindwipe chuckled. "You see, lieutenant, you see!"

"I see, Mindwipe," Fracture muttered, cocking her sniper rifle. "You've done your job. Get out."

"What's going on here?" Astrotrain uttered, eyeing Fracture.

"I'm getting some payback," Fracture uttered, raising her rifle and pointing it straight at Barricade's unresponsive face. Skyrender grinned while Astrotrain frowned.

"Payback?" Astrotrain echoed. "Payback for what?"

Fracture thumbed the trigger, a flash of doubt crossing her face.

"You know what?" she muttered in fury. "I don't even remember. I just know I hate his guts. So I'm going to put him in the ground."

She looked at both Astrotrain and Skyrender, challenging them to stop her. Mindwipe quickly fled the situation, but was blocked off by a large hand.

"And just what is going on here?"

Everyone turned to look at the new arrival.

Dark in both figure and nature, Dirge looked down on the gathered Decepticons. Gathered _former _Decepticons.

"Commander Dirge," Astrotrain said in a relieved tone, "Perhaps you could defuse this situation?"

Dirge looked at Astrotrain. He then looked at Skyrender. He then looked at both Fracture and Barricade, one holding a gun to the other's face.

He looked back to both Skyrender and Astrotrain.

"Do you respect him?" he asked, pointing to the inert Barricade.

There was a second's hesitation, before both nodded.

He then pointed to Fracture.

"And her?"

There was no hesitation. They both unanimously shook their heads.

Before she could even scream, Dirge grabbed Fracture's head in his hand and crushed. Her skull popped like a balloon and her optics imploded, her crushed head becoming little more than junk in Dirge's iron grip.

As her corpse flopped to the floor, Dirge was already transforming.

"Situation defused."

He shot into the sky.

There was a general stunned silence.

Barricade's optics flickered. He looked down at Fracture's corpse. He then looked at the terrified Mindwipe. His face turned into an ugly mask.

"_Come here._"

As Barricade chased Mindwipe, Astrotrain leaned in close to Skyrender.

"That's why you can't kill the Autobots," he muttered sagely. "'Cause you'd have to argue with guys like _him_."

* * *

><p><em>A long time ago…<em>

_In a place of darkness…_

_The choice was made to leave._

_And leave they did._

_Only to arrive in a place of fear…_

* * *

><p>The brig of the <em>Caliginous <em>lived up to its ship's name.

It was a dark and foreboding place, filled with terror and regret. Regret for choices made. Regret for lives lost.

Regret for friends gone.

Six months after the news of Bumblebee's death, Optimus and the rest could still hardly believe it. The plucky Autobots had gone up against Megatron and lived, fought through everything that had been thrown at him on Earth. He had also been the one to finally kill Soundwave, all the way back in Chicago… for the help that was now.

The mood was solemn and no-one spoke a word. They hadn't for some time. With so many friends, so many allies lost… it was hard to even talk.

But not for someone else.

"Then there was the time Prowl tried to warn you guys!" Skywarp cackled. "He shot straight for that Space Bridge like a bat out of hell! And Commander Dreadwing was all like 'DO SOMETHING DO SOMETHING DO SOMETHING' and Admiral Payback was like, '_Ima type in some new coordinates, send this bitch on a blind date with gravity' _and KAPOW Prowl splices across the galaxy and slams into Earth with the force of a neutron bomb!

"But Prowl was all like 'I can shrug this off—URK!' 'cause creepy Crashdive comes cascading in with that wicked sword of his and says (well he doesn't say it, obviously) '_Take it like_—"

"We've heard this all before," Arcee hissed with rage. Optimus shut off his optics and sighed.

_He only tells the story to get a reaction. It's so obvious…_

Optimus, Ratchet, Mirage and Arcee were strung up by their arms and legs, their limbs locked in by energy chains. Moving even slightly caused great pain, forcing them to remain as still as possible.

Beside them, restrained in a healing chamber, Sideswipe rested. He had an easier time of it, if only thanks to his horrific injury. But, against all odds, he was getting better; Flatline may have been one of the creepiest Decepticons about, but there was no disputing his medical expertise.

Skywarp was silent. Another thing for the Autobots to regret.

Slowly, enjoying the misery he was causing with mere footfalls, he approached Arcee. One step at a time, each on echoing off the brig. Arcee tried not to show any fear, but still shivered slightly as Skywarp stopped pacing just inches from her.

Cupping her chin with his hand, he looked into her optics. He grinned, yellow teeth reflecting the ugliness in his spark.

"I met your sister once," he uttered. "A long time ago, in a distant place. Chained up to a cube, about to be sacrificed like another lamb to this slaughter. You wanna know what she said?"

Arcee didn't reply. She just switched off her optics.

With his other hand, Skywarp scratched the top of Arcee's head.

"She begged for her life," he whispered as he drew his claws down the side of her face. "For you see, before the end, everyone begs. They beg for food, for water, for life. Your sister was no different."

Arcee refused to cry out as Skywarp's claws descended.

"And when the day of judgement came, as she died she _screamed_, though you could barely hear it over the cheering of the crowd. They were baying for blood, they were. And she screamed, oh how she _screamed_… so scream… scream…"

"Leave her alone!" Mirage roared.

Skywarp left her alone, if only to sock Mirage in the jaw. The Autobot spat out a tooth into Skywarp's face, earning another few punches.

The Autobots were silent.

"You don't get it do you?" Skywarp snarled, looking at their defeated faces. "It's over. I'm not joking, I'm not lying; It. Is. Over. You lost. There is nothing else left for you here. You've just got to give in. Accept the fact that the war is over."

No-one answered him.

"Indeed it is," came a voice.

Skywarp spun around.

From out of the shadows, Lord Soundwave emerged.

"M-My lord," Skywarp stammered. "I did not hear you enter…"

"Exactly as planned," Soundwave said. "Now release Optimus Prime."

There was silence. Optimus frowned.

"R-Release him, sir?"

"I wish to show him something."

Skywarp turned to look at the Prime, a snarl on his face.

"The lord wants what the lord gets," he muttered, moving over to a console and tapping several buttons. The energy chains suspending Optimus vanished, dropping him unceremoniously to the floor. He looked up, defeat in his eyes.

"Follow me, Optimus," Soundwave ordered.

The leader of the Autobots was led out by the leader of the cybertronians, as Skywarp vanished into the shadows.

* * *

><p>They paced down a corridor in silence.<p>

_I could fight him…_

_I might win…_

_I might break out the others…_

_I might escape…_

_I…_

_You've lost, Optimus. It was a good… no, a great run… but it's over now._

"Why resist change, Optimus?" Soundwave asked, still pacing.

Optimus didn't answer.

"Why resist? Honestly, I still don't understand why you wallow in self-pity and waste away in our captivity. We can't be beat."

"If it bleeds, it can be killed."

"Of course. I know that better than anyone. After all, I've been killed twice. But what's to stop one from coming back?"

They had arrived at the bridge.

The crew were, naturally, drones. With the exception of the cybertronian in charge.

"Admiral," Soundwave uttered. "Is everything prepared?"

"Of course, my lord," Payback replied, pointing out the window to the inky darkness of space. "The Pillars are all in position and we've had confirmation from Sixshot that they're ready at Cybertron."

Optimus flinched as if slapped.

_Sixshot…_

_That traitor…_

_He was the one…_

"Put it out of your mind, Optimus," Soundwave said quickly. "You are here to be shown, not told.

"Admiral; start the process."

Payback nodded and began ordering the drones about.

In the void, tiny blue lights appeared, no bigger than the stars in the distance.

"Activate," Payback intoned.

Above the Earth, a flash of blue arced across the darkness.

The Destroyer arrived.

"This is…" Optimus gasped.

"The same plan Sentinel had, yes," Soundwave replied. "Except I have perfected it."

Mile by mile, Unicron began to materialise above the Earth.

"By… by Primus, what is this?"

"This, Optimus, is the end of planet Earth and the end of the human race."

* * *

><p>Unicron began to feed.<p>

It had been starved for far too long.

Slowly, ever so slowly, it opened its maw.

It wasn't like two lips of a mouth. It wasn't like the mangled mouth of an ant. It was more like the mouth of a squid, opening in a circle, revealing rows of teeth, each on the size of a skyscraper. Something so colossal could not even be truly perceived, its size and… impossibility breaking the mind's eye of whoever gazed upon it.

Guided by a gunslinger, it turned towards the moon.

Turning was a feat in itself. Huge geysers of fire scorched into space from a part of its spherical body, turning it or moving it in the required direction. Each geyser was a city wide and burned as hot as the sun did. Slowly, methodically, the Destroyer moved towards Earth's only natural satellite, its maw widening.

Eventually, it closed in around it.

The trap shut.

Teeth crushed through lunar rock, breaking it as if it were nothing but salt. The _Ark _was covered in complete and utter darkness.

Luminous light vanished, gone for good.

In complete and utter silence, Unicron devoured the moon.

A shadow was cast over the world.

"The world is next, Optimus Prime. Will you join us in our feast? It shall last as long as a star burns in the sky, as long as the universe continues to expand, as long as the cosmic light never dims. Or shall you remain in this darkness you have put yourself in, one that lives to protect a race of violent, greedy, little creatures?

"You have three days to decide. By that time, Unicron will have digested his meal and be ready to take his next target. Drones, escort him back to the brig."

Optimus Prime was led away.

Truly and utterly defeated.

* * *

><p>"<em>It is coming for us…"<em>

"LET ME OUT OF THIS CAGE!" Marcus screamed, banging at the walls.

"_This is our reward…"_

"LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME OUT—"

"_All I've done, I've done for our survival…"_

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"_There was no other choice…"_

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"_YOU COULD HAVE GONE WITH HER!" Malevolus screeched with sorrow. "YOU COULD HAVE LIVED WITH ONE WHO LOVED YOU, CHERISHED YOU, SHOWED YOU ALL THERE WAS TO EVER SEE! BUT YOU CHOSE THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD THE DEAD… I HAD TO TURN YOU INTO A WEAPON!"_

Marcus curled up on the floor of the gilded prison, tears streaming down his face.

"I was the traitor, wasn't I?" he wept. "Ryder and the others said I was sleepwalking… that I was always restless, that I was changing… how did I get to that asylum? You took me there. _You have control of my body while I sleep! _You contacted the Decepticons and made a deal!"

"_We are the dead," Malevolus wailed, ignorant of Marcus's accusation._

"You… Stacy… where's Stacy? Where's Ryder? Where's Optimus? Where's Lennox, where's Epps, where's Gerin? I w-want my mummy… I want… I w-want to go h-home… d-don't leave me here…"

He curled up as the waves began to die down.

* * *

><p><em>Like the sun…<em>

_We're all children underneath this shallow skin._

_Every child is lost._

_Every child is alone._

_Every child is HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY_


	42. A Stairway to Heaven Part I

*cries a single drop of black liquid sorrow*

Sadly, 'Good Mourning' is coming to an end :(

It's been a heck of a journey, but now the curtain call is... well, calling. We're about to finish.

This is the first in a **four-parter **which will then be followed by **the final episode** which will THEN be followed by an **epilogue**.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank all who have read this far. You guys/gals are amazing.

From a grotty Italian internet cafe, here's to 'Good Mourning'!

* * *

><p>"So he does devour. I'm surprised. I half expected it to just float around for a bit."<p>

Ramjet looked up at his lord, a smile on his face. "I will answer everything about Unicron, only if you answer my question."

Soundwave nodded. "Fair."

Ramjet paced along the bridge, gazing out at the deep blackness of space… and the new, but fatal, moon that hung over Earth.

"It is not a destroyer," Ramjet chuckled. "When I found myself resurrected, exploring his strange surface, I began to realise that no god nor alien had resurrected me; it was simply a piece of Cybertron, forgotten and rotting. It is not a sentient being; it is still nothing more than a piece of corrupted core. And what did our core do before destruction? Why, it helped create our planet, and therefore, us. It is a creator, not a destroyer. Sure it can consume anything, but only to survive. It cannot maintain that frame for long; it must be sustained."

"You used it," Soundwave announced. It wasn't an accusation, just a fact.

"Yes."

Ramjet seemed almost lost in the far-away stars. "It is nothing more than an autonomous eater… really, it is a foetus without an umbilical cord. But I knew that more would be resurrected, so I made plans quickly. When others came before me, finding their own remembered steps, I spun lies about this creature, turning it into a god. And I, its dark messiah."

"So why, with all this newfound power, did you hand it all over to me?" Soundwave asked finally.

Ramjet looked up, cunning written all over his face. "Because I'm quite content in this position. And if anyone found out the truth about Unicron… who I named after the old legend… then I won't be the one taking the fall. Now my question; why create this… Stairway to Heaven?"

Soundwave looked out the ship at the huge, strange pillar that stretched out of the planet, pitch black and looming.

"Oh, that?" he asked, disinterested. "It is nothing more than a hobby; when Unicron finishes off Earth, I'd rather bring along its legacy. Two animals of every kind shall accompany us. I even got the idea from the humans themselves."

Ramjet laughed. "Working under you will be more amusing than I thought!"

He transformed, shooting through the ship.

"I'll link up with Sixshot, get him ready to destroy the Earth!"

Soundwave looked out the window at the darkness.

And the god.

_This is the end of a chapter in our history._

_And the beginning of a new one._

* * *

><p><span>Episode 38: A Stairway to Heaven (Part I)<span>

_Withered hands, withered bodies begging for salvation  
>Deserted by the hand of gods of their own creation<br>Nations cry underneath decaying skies above  
>You are guilty, the punishment is death for all who live…<br>The punishment is death for all who live_

—**Out of the Silent Planet**

* * *

><p>They were strung up in utter defeat. The brig had never seemed darker. As their jailor snoozed in content, they were close to breaking down. With the moon gone, it wouldn't take long for Unicron to digest and move on to the Earth. And, far up in space, there was nothing the Autobots could do. Their leader delivered the ultimatum.<p>

"If we do not join with Soundwave before the Earth is destroyed," Optimus announced, hollow in both voice and spirit, "Then we shall be executed."

There was silence. No-one wanted to choose. You were damned if you did… and damned if you don't.

"We were soldiers, once," Mirage muttered. "Now what? Prisoners, who are only held on account of rivalry and pride? Is this how we really want to live… and die?"

"Whichever side Shockwave's on," Arcee hissed, "I'm not."

"I want to join these creeps as much as you do," Mirage agreed. "But there is no choice at all. Besides, think of it as a way to get close to him…"

"All of us together could never fight Shockwave," Ratchet muttered. "We only killed him once thanks to an upgraded Optimus, the humans and the element of surprise… something none of us have."

While the three argued amongst themselves, Optimus turned to look at Sideswipe, who rested in his recuperation chamber. The Autobot was still out, but he had been coming round often and was even capable of a few words. Optimus sighed; Sideswipe was the lucky one, for not having a say in the argument.

_Here we are caught, like rats. The last Prime, hung up to dry._

_Is this how it ends?_

"I do not care for what you three choose," Optimus uttered. "But I'm not giving my life to these monsters. They will have to take it."

There was silence. At the other end of the room, Skywarp woke out of an energy-restoration phase. He grinned at them all, like a deformed vulture.

"Another beauuuutiful morning in the brig of the Caliginous!" he announced. "I've just received word that Commander Ramjet and Lord Soundwave have left the ship because they can smell you guys on the bridge. Or something like that. Anyhow, I've got—"

The door to the brig opened. A huge, dark and imposing figure entered. Arcee tensed and the other Autobots began to wish they were dead.

Skywarp backed away. "Ah… uh… Commander Shockwave? Uh, what brings you to our humble abode?"

"A need for interrogation," Shockwave uttered, paying the lieutenant no attention. "You can wait outside, lieutenant."

Skywarp nodded and left, giving one last gleeful look at the terrified Autobots.

When he was gone, Shockwave looked up at the Autobots.

Optimus knew that the commander was running hundreds of calculations through his brain… probably wondering which was to cause the most pain.

Shockwave raised a finger, aiming it at Sideswipe. "Is he operable?"

"He can't even talk!" Mirage roared. "Don't touch him!"

Shockwave ignored the Autobot and paced towards the recuperating prisoner. He tapped a few buttons on the healing chamber…

"No!" Optimus roared, but it was too late. The chamber opened and Sideswipe awoke, still restrained.

"Wha… wait…"

"Words are wasteful," Shockwave uttered, raising the huge claw on his left arm and pointing it straight at Sideswipe.

The other Autobots turned their heads, unable to do anything.

Shockwave brought the claw down, in one simple, brutal slice.

Optimus shut off his optics.

Another Autobot dead…

…_All my fault._

And then;

"Wait… what the hell are you doing?" Sideswipe asked, shocked.

The Autobots turned back.

Shockwave hadn't cut Sideswipe; he had cut his restraints. The Autobot almost toppled onto the floor of the brig, looking up in shock.

"W-Why?" he asked.

"Why would I want the Earth destroyed?" Shockwave asked back. "Especially when I won't be the one to destroy it?"

He moved over to release the other Autobots—

"_Commander Shockwave!" _boomed a voice around the room, the tanoy almost breaking under the volume. "_Exactly what are you doing?_"

"Lord Soundwave has ordered a prisoner transfer," Shockwave intoned as he continued to release the Autobots. "They are to be taken to Unicron, where they will be much more secure. Believe me, Admiral Payback, this has come from the top."

There was silence. Shockwave stopped; Optimus realised that the unstoppable Decepticon had miscalculated something.

None of them had ever known about the incident that got Payback his promotion.

"_I'm sorry, Commander, but I'll need Lord Soundwave himself to confirm that—"_

"Lord Soundwave has left the ship, Admiral," Shockwave uttered. "I doubt he would take kindly to you wasting his time."

There was another silence. Shockwave hit another button. The four other Autobots dropped to the floor of the brig, their restraints dissipating.

"…_I'm sorry Commander, but that's bullshit._"

Shockwave paused. Rarely did he ever.

"You are an admiral, Payback, while I am a commander. On these matters, I outrank you. I will not take this presumption and insubordination from an inferior."

"_In that case, I'm sorry __'_sir'_, but that's total bullshit. Skywarp, stop them!_"

A klaxon sounded throughout the ship. The alarm had been raised.

"That part of your great escape?" Optimus asked bitterly.

"It's part of yours," Shockwave uttered, before opening his communicator. "Astrotrain, do you read?"

"_Yes, sir._"

"Assassination target; Admiral Payback. Status; urgent."

"_You got it, boss._"

The door to the brig opened.

"I'm sorry sir, but Admiral—" Skywarp began, before seeing who was very free and very angry.

"Oh shit."

Shockwave blew him apart with a single shot.

* * *

><p>"Lord Soundwave!"<p>

"_Yes, Admiral?"_

Payback motioned several drones to go and deal with the escapees. "Sir, Shockwave's freed the Autobots!"

"_WHAT?_"

"I don't know why, sir, but they're heading out!"

"_Payback, blow the ship._"

"…S-Sir?"

"_YOU HEARD ME; BLOW. THE. SHIP. THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO ESCAPE!_"

Payback gulped. "Understood, my lord."

He looked over to the big, red, shiny button that Soundwave had strangely and humorously included on every ship in his fleet. It had never seemed so terrifying.

But then he brightened up. _Pit, I can always be brought back!__ This act of loyalty won't go unnoticed; Unicron would be pleased!_

He heard a tapping sound.

He looked up, out the bridge window.

Astrotrain floated in space, rocket launcher in hand.

Although Payback couldn't hear him, he could read lips well enough.

_Hold on._

The rocket blew apart the glass and the bridge crew blew out into space.

* * *

><p>"But why release <em>us<em>?" Optimus asked as they ran through the corridors of the _Caliginous_.

Shockwave paced ahead, each stride forcing the Autobots to run. He blew apart four drones in his way and skewered another, never slowing, never speeding.

"Because I can depend on the Autobots to be Autobots," Shockwave uttered. "If you want to save all the poor little humans on Earth, then you need to do as I say."

"What if we think the humans aren't worth saving?" Optimus questioned bitterly.

Shockwave would have laughed, if he had ever laughed. "Don't even think about attempting to bluff me, Optimus. I can read your thoughts just by staring at your face. Here's the plan;

"Your first step is to fly to Unicron and capture Ramjet. He's the only one who truly knows what Unicron can do and what his weaknesses are; afterwards, kill him. The other Decepticons and cybertronians will then converge on your position there. Hold them off while I kill Unicron."

That made the Autobots pause. But they continued to run.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Arcee hissed in Optimus's audio receptor as Shockwave dispatched a screaming cybertronian.

"No," Shockwave replied. "But you can listen, or you can die. You're not pivotal to my plan to save Earth.

"Your second step is to kill Megatron. Ending him will end any Decepticon threat."

"What about Soundwave?" Mirage shouted as they smashed through another few drones.

"If my theory is correct, which it might not be, then once Unicron dies, every cybertronian resurrected by him should die as well."

"That's a bit of a long shot," Optimus muttered.

"Which is why you must confirm my theory with Ramjet. But be quick about it. They will come in full force. Soundwave's one weakness is his inability to adapt; he can create some of the best plans, but if they go awry, then he'll panic. He will send _everyone _after you."

"Where will you be?"

Shockwave stopped. The Autobots tensed.

Shockwave raised his arm cannon.

"Killing."

He blew apart a wall.

The Autobots were sucked into space.

* * *

><p>Starscream landed with a screeching thud on top of the battleship, hovering in the clouds.<p>

"Lord Megatron!" he cried, seeing his lord glaring over the edge. "The Autobots have escaped custody with the help of Shockwave!"

Megatron turned to look at him, genuine shock on his face.

"WHAT?"

Behind him, Payback's corpse smacked onto the ship, energon spraying everywhere.

All around the ship, drones ascended into space, abandoning the Earth and the Answerers.

"Then we're following," Megatron growled. "Order the ship up."

Starscream went about his master's will, as Megatron stared up at the sky.

_Prime…_

_It's time to end this…_

* * *

><p>Those on the surface saw their captors fly away.<p>

Those underground heard their captors fly away.

All that watched over them were the Answerers, their minds locked away by their cybertronian parts.

Kaminari Ishihara stared up, a snarl on her face.

"Are they abandoning us? Are they leaving me?"

In the distance, she saw a ship that had not yet left. She turned the small knob on her shoulder, beating her metal heart.

And then she went forward.

* * *

><p>Ramjet strolled through the grand citadel, built by a million drones. He smiled to himself; his victory was almost utterly complete.<p>

He saw a figure standing in the middle of the architectural wonder.

"Sixshot!" he cried in mock jubilation. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Only half a year, _commander_."

Ramjet chuckled. "Well, the job is done, is it not? Every person has played his part and the game is over. I trust you'll be guiding our huge friend here on his course with his… meal?"

Sixshot wasn't listening. He looked around the cavernous building, his sharp optics scanning.

"Do you dream, Commander Ramjet?"

Ramjet hesitated a moment. He squinted, trying to decipher the commander before him.

"Can't say I have…"

"I don't think there's a better thing in this universe than dreaming."

"Awesome. Now, back to—"

"This is a waste of time," Sixshot muttered, turning and walking away. "I'm going to find a little light, in a little time."

"Where in Primus's name are you going?" Ramjet cried incredulously. "_Come back here_!"

"You don't order me about, _commander_. Not anymore."

"When Soundwave hears—"

"Soundwave is nothing more than a fly on a windshield. I'm going hunting."

His steps echoed around the palace, rebounding off pillars and walls. Eventually, they disappeared.

"He's too unstable," Ramjet hissed. "He'll need to be taken care of…"

That's when the walls exploded and the Autobots charged in.

* * *

><p>Soundwave panicked.<p>

"Where is Shockwave?" he yelled.

"_Unknown at this time, sir!_" replied one of his many officers. "_He was last seen heading to Earth!_"

"Fine then… where's Dreadwing?"

"…_Unknown, sir._"

"HE'S A COMMANDER!" Soundwave roared. "YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW WHERE YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER IS!"

There was no answer.

"Fine then," Soundwave hissed. "Where's Dirge?"

"_Here, my lord._"

"Finally," Soundwave uttered. "Ramjet and Sixshot are about to be attacked by the Autobots. Kill them all. Including Ramjet and Sixshot. I want them all dead, do you understand? Kill. Them. All."

"_Yes sir._"

Ratbat circled him in space. The monstrous bat rested underneath his master's arm, yawning. The last of Soundwave's menagerie, he was a sorry sight.

"Get some rest," Soundwave muttered. "We have work to do."

* * *

><p>"How do we kill it?" Optimus asked as Sideswipe socked Ramjet in the jaw.<p>

"Get off me!" Ramjet whined, as the Autobots held him down.

"Optimus, there'll be reinforcements any minute…"

"I know, Arcee. But we need this information."

Ramjet cackled, his face missing a few sharp teeth. "Beat me to the pain, go ahead. I'm not telling you anything."

"Oh good," Mirage uttered. "That means we can kill you."

"Yes, you can," Ramjet chuckled. "But that's not stopped me before."

"I'll reduce you to ash."

"With what? Your sick burns?"

"Enough!" Optimus cried, unsheathing a keyblade and holding it up against Ramjet's throat. "Tell us how to kill Unicron!"

Ramjet spat on the floor and looked up with menacing eyes.

"You can't," he growled. "Whatever injury he suffers, he regenerates. He's a part of Cybertron, don't you see? The core is infested with dark energon, running through our veins as well. If it has the power to undo death, then it is death itself."

"I've seen stranger aeons," Optimus muttered. "Even death may die. What reacts with dark energon?"

Ramjet grinned. "Only corpses."

"Incorrect."

They all looked around.

Dreadwing stood there, arms crossed, his single optic considering and wizening.

Optimus pointed his sword at him, as the Autobots got ready for a battle.

"How'd he get in here without us noticing?" Sideswipe muttered.

"Teleportation," Dreadwing replied, "Is extremely useful."

They stood in silence. Ramjet attempted to crawl away, but Arcee's tactic of foot-to-head stopped him.

"You came alone, Dreadwing," Optimus said. "That was a bad idea."

"No it wasn't," Dreadwing responded. "After all, if I had not come alone, it would have seemed as if I wanted to fight you."

Optimus's optics widened. "You don't wish to fight?"

"No. I want to help you."

"By Primus," Mirage whispered. "Why in the hell is everyone suddenly on our side?"

Ramjet spat on the ground.

"Are you disappointed, commander?" Dreadwing asked, a hint of triumph in his voice.

"No, Dreadwing," Ramjet growled. "I half-expected this. You always thought too hard, working with philosophies and theologies… what a load of scrap. What a waste of time. You will die, again. And not come back. You. Will. Die."

An ion cloud exploded outwards from Ramjet, stunning the Autobots. Their sensors were blinded, their movements restricted. The cloud dissipated shortly, but Ramjet was long gone.

"Should we chase him down?" Ratchet asked.

Optimus shook his head. He looked up at Dreadwing.

"What do you know?"

"I know what can kill Unicron."

"Then tell us."

"I'm afraid it might be too late… I think Soundwave has destroyed them all…"

"TELL US, DREADWING!" Optimus thundered, catching everyone off-guard. Dreadwing looked up, surprised.

"You still care for the humans?" Dreadwing whispered. "How peculiar… even though they will lead to your death…"

He shook his head, before explaining.

"Although we are much more technologically advanced than the humans, our materials were limited. Three elements in particular; plutonium, neptunium and uranium."

It didn't take long to figure out.

"You're talking about a nuclear weapon?" Sideswipe said plainly.

"Yes. Although Soundwave had them all destroyed when the Earth was conquered…"

"_I have one_."

Optimus heard Shockwave's voice in his ear. It was disconcerting.

"One what?"

"_A nuclear weapon. I had already guessed that such a weapon could deal a fatal blow, but I needed someone to confirm it. This one went unnoticed by Soundwave because it was retired. I have since reinstated it._"

"So you're coming to Unicron with one?" Optimus asked, almost distrusting the huge amount of luck they were receiving.

"_As the seconds pass. But the cybertronians will reach you first, Prime. Hold them off until I arrive. Then seek cover._"

"One last question," Optimus asked Dreadwing. "When Unicron dies, will everyone he has resurrected die with him?"

Dreadwing was taken aback, having not thought of this before. "Well, I… I would assume so, yes. It is his blood in our veins, and our sparks beat in rhythm. So, yes, I—"

The palace wall suddenly exploded. As huge pieces of metal slammed all around and the Autobots were knocked down, a figure shot through the hole and barrelled into Dreadwing.

Dreadwing screamed as a sword went through his chest, before teleporting out of there.

The Autobots got to their feet as the figure approached.

"Optimus Prime," Dirge sighed. "Finally, a challenge."

"Another cybertronian goon," Mirage muttered. "I'm getting sick of these guys."

"Then let's get you a cure," Sideswipe grinned, readying his swords. "I call it 'Decepticonextinctionitis'."

"Here's a tip, Sideswipe," Mirage sighed as Dirge approached. "Don't ever become a doctor."

Optimus stood up tall. He looked around.

Mirage and Sideswipe stood together, swords and blasters at the ready. Ratchet held a buzzsaw and hammer in hand, nervous but prepared. Arcee looked as cold as ever, her serrated blade reflecting the sun's light that poured through the broken wall, illuminating the grand room.

_We are the Autobots._

_We have beaten this scum before._

"The last Prime," Dirge uttered, drawing an atom-sharp spear from his back. "Excellent."

_We're back._

The five Autobots charged, roaring.

Dirge charged, roaring.

Optimus's keyblade swung down, missing Dirge by inches, who spun around and kicked Mirage away, before following up with a punch to Optimus's skull. Sideswipe cut a wound upon Dirge's side, who leapt up into the air and shot down, smashing the Autobot into the ground. Arcee stabbed her blade into Dirge's thigh as a Ratchet hammer-blow clocked him round the skull. In response, a missile blew Ratchet across the room, while Dirge's spear and Arcee's blade met in a flash of sparks. She leapt back as Dirge pressed forward, his face expressionless, his force inexorable.

"You're a pretty cold-blooded dude," Arcee hissed.

She rolled under a stab and brought her blade up between Dirge's legs, sparks and metal flying.

"I'm colder."

Dirge leapt over her, leaving two missiles behind. Arcee cut one in half, but the other tore her ribcage open, sprawling her across the ground. Mirage came roaring in, blades swinging, bouncing off Dirge's spear. The commander was forced back, as a blaster shot from Optimus tore his shoulder.

"No…" Dirge whispered, kicking Mirage back, before riposting another assault and parrying a return. He spear embedded itself in Mirage's chest and a foot to the face sent him out of the fight. Sideswipe was next, charging in with such a blow it smashed Dirge's spear to pieces. The commander was forced back as Sideswipe sliced off an arm and stabbed Dirge through the hand and chest.

Dirge grunted slightly, before spitting in the Autobot's face.

Sideswipe slammed his sword into Dirge's face, piercing his head. It carved through his brain and came out the other side.

As the sword was withdrawn, Dirge dropped dead.

There was a sudden silence. The battle had gone by so quickly and so powerfully, no-one had expected it to end.

"I'm back in the game, baby," Sideswipe gasped.

As Ratchet tended to Arcee and Mirage, who both complained they were fine and could fight, Optimus turned towards the hole in the wall.

Drones poured in.

_We are the Autobots._

_And we stand together._

"For the humans we have cursed…"

The drones charged.

"For the allies we have lost…"

Mirage and Arcee got to their feet, pained but ready.

"For the world we have doomed…"

They stepped forward.

"KILL! THEM! ALL!"

The Autobots smashed into the drones, tearing them apart.

* * *

><p>"Sir," Astrotrain muttered. "If you don't mind me asking, what the fuck is going on?"<p>

Shockwave and his right-hand floated through space, the commander clutching a case in hand, containing a deadly payload. With every second, they came closer to Unicron.

"Explain," the huge Decepticon uttered.

"First, why free the Autobots? I'm guessing you already knew a contained atomic detonation could kill this… thing. So why send them after Ramjet? Second, why did Dreadwing turn traitor? He's got it made! He's in command of a legion of drones and works with the most powerful army in the galaxy! Third… why have you betrayed Megatron and the cybertronians?"

They floated through the inky darkness in silence, as calculations ran through Shockwave's head.

"In answer to the first," Shockwave finally intoned. "The Autobots are nothing more than a distraction. There were many drones and cybertronians on Earth and there was a 48% chance of being detected with the weapon. The Autobots have drawn everyone to Unicron, allowing us to pick up this payload.

"Second. Dreadwing is a fool. It is that simple. It was his mastery of drones that made him useful back on Cybertron, but when it came to tough decisions, he usually came through with a huge amount of luck and surprising amount of willpower. But under Ramjet and Soundwave he has become disillusioned with a cause that has now become long forgotten. He betrayed his comrades, simply to find something more to life than what has been set in stone for him."

"Third… I am not going to answer the third."

Astrotrain nodded, understanding. Truthfully, he had been extremely lucky to get more than a few words out of his commander. Asking a personal question about loyalty was a bit far.

"Of course, sir. I just thought, as this is the end, it was time to clear a few things up."

But with that line, Astrotrain knew he had struck a winner. He could see Shockwave's optic lined with concentration, calculating peoples' feelings and objectives, calculating locations and distances, calculating every instance of anything that could happen.

Finally, he decided.

"You should be able to answer the last question by yourself, lieutenant."

"I've given up trying to guess what you'll do, sir."

"In that case, let me tell you something. I do not feel happiness. I do not feel sadness. I do not feel fear. I do not feel brave. I do not feel love. I do not feel hate. But I do feel pain. And, due to that, I can also feel… satisfaction. But only when I cause others pain. This is why I kill; because it satisfies me. Preferably directly, but indirectly is manageable. Loyalty to a faction doesn't matter, just as long as death is inflicted."

Astrotrain began to feel slightly afraid. He rarely felt afraid. But listening to his commander go on about murder as if it were a game made his position seem… dangerous.

"So…" Astrotrain managed.

"In the end, what I have done has killed every last one of us. The chances of survival for the cybertronian race is at 17% if we continue on this course. It feels… good."

Astrotrain gulped and took his mind off his commander and onto the much safer bomb in his grasp.

"And… the humans?"

"They will not know extinction. But they will know pain before the end."


	43. A Stairway to Heaven Part II

As he disembarked into the shadows, he heard the sounds of battle rage.

With ELLIPSIS dragging behind him, he sauntered through the darkness, making sure none of the drones or resurrected cybertronians spotted him. Taking cover behind a sliver of metal, he took a bearing of his surroundings.

He looked up at a dark hill, light over its summit. The battle was coming from beyond there.

He climbed like a rat, almost slithering over the sharp and jagged metal that formed Unicron's skin. He crawled to the top, before standing and looking down.

A palace stretched into the sky. At its foot, hundreds of drones and cybertronians attempted to pour into a hole in the great palace's walls. At the hole, the drones were being cut down.

"Who the fuck are you?" rasped a voice.

Ryder turned around, finger on the trigger.

_Five seconds left._

He pulled an oxygen mask out of his coat and took a gulp. He would need to watch his intake from now on; there may have been gravity on the massive creature, but it had no need for a breathable atmosphere.

What faced him off was a monster. Neither a full machine nor a full human, it was a twisted and deformed figure. One half of its face was human, with a curious eye and cruel, twisted lip. No hair and very little scalp presented itself while its human arm was skinny and scarred. The other half presented a different look; a cybertronian optic, blue in colour, and skin of metal that flexed and rippled whenever its mouth moved. The cybertronian arm was much larger than the human arm, almost, apparently, unnecessarily so, which ended with five thick, sharp claws.

"No normal Answerer would ask that," Ryder muttered, attempting to use as little breath as possible. "I'm a human, searching for a cybertronian."

"For what purpose?"

"To kill him."

The hideous creature flinched. "Why aren't you on Earth?" it hissed.

"Because living there has a short life expectancy. Do you have your own personal oxygen supply? Nice touch. I may need to look into augmentations, just as long as they don't make me look like you."

_Arrogant git. Another five seconds._

He reached into his coat again, withdrew the mask, and took another breath.

"I remember you," the creature hissed. "Strong and quick, yet stupid and… theatrical. I thought you wouldn't last long. Indeed, with your current mission, you won't last an hour."

Ryder frowned behind his shades. Then it clicked.

"No… Kaminari?"

The figure flinched again, her face becoming even uglier.

"That name is long forgotten," she growled. "I have become more, evolved past you and the primitive slaves. Your oxygen will eventually run out. I don't even need it."

"Jeez, who did this to you?" Ryder muttered. "We thought you dead, those that cared."

_Five seconds left._

He took another puff from the mask.

They stared at each other in silence.

"You know, whoever took you… you should kill him," Ryder suggested. "Whoever did all that to you…"

"Why should I? I'm one of them now, Ryder. Why should I turn my back on them, when humans do nothing but turn their backs on each other?"

"Because they're gonna gobble up the Earth, that's why."

"Bullshit. They're going to ascend us to their level, like the Answerers and I. That's why they haven't killed the humans."

"They haven't killed the humans because it would take more time than to just send in the planet-devouring moon of death. They were only enslaved so as to give them something to do. If they're occupied, it turns their minds off resistance."

"No-one can resist," Kaminari whispered. "HARP died long ago."

"HARP lives on in all of us," Ryder gasped. "Even you."

He hurriedly grabbed his mask and took a puff.

_Gotta remember my seconds…_

Kaminari was silent.

"I'm leaving," Ryder muttered. "I've got to find Sixshot and kill him. I've got shit else to do anymore. There's nothing much sweeter than vengeance. Goodbye, Kaminari. Hope you find death before you find pain."

Ryder leapt off the hill and slid down the junkyard surface.

Kaminari stood on the hill and watched the far-away battle.

She saw a yellow Seeker drop out of the sky.

She twisted the knob on her arm, forcing her heart to beat faster, pumping more energon into her.

It was close to fatal.

But she only needed one last dose.

_Maybe the kid's right…_

_Maybe vengeance, no matter which side, is the sweetest option…_

* * *

><p><span>Episode 39: A Stairway to Heaven (Part II)<span>

_You know I'd sooner forget…  
>But I remember those nights<br>Yeah, life was just a bet on a race  
>Between the lights<em>

_Had your head on my shoulder  
>Had your hand in my hair<br>Now you act a little cold  
>Like you don't seem to care…<em>

_But believe in me baby and I'll take you away!  
>From out of this darkness and into the day!<br>From these rivers of headlights, these rivers are rain!  
>From the anger, that lives on the streets with these names!<br>'Cause I run every red light; on memory lane!  
>I see desperation; explode into flames!<em>

_And I don't want to see it again…_

_From all of these signs saying;  
>'Sorry but we're closed'<br>All the way…_

—**Telegraph Road**

* * *

><p>The wall exploded.<p>

Pieces of plaster and brick flew through the air, bouncing off the couch, tearing apart the kitchen. The whole complex was thrown into chaos as sunlight poured through.

Marcus hid in the shadows.

"How do I have a choice, if you've seen us die?" he whispered.

"_All I can do is beg…" Malevolus pleaded. "We just want one more day… a week…"_

"There's always more," Marcus muttered, tears in his eyes. "And this isn't living anyway…"

"_I'd rather breathe through your mouth in terror and rage!" Malevolus thundered, "Than wander into the dark, blind and still!"_

"This isn't living," Marcus cried.

"_If you go out there, we are the dead. Do you understand? We are the dead."_

Marcus heard something going through the room, quiet in efficiency. He dared not look.

"_Can you hear the hounds…?"_

Marcus began to take a step forward.

"_NO!"_

"I must."

He took another step forward. He was almost in the light. He could hear someone—or something—rifling through wherever he was.

"_I… I…"_

"If I am to die… fine. I don't care anymore."

He stepped into the light. He looked up.

"Jesus, there's a kid in here!" the soldier cried. "Tell General Mason we've rescued another one!"

* * *

><p>Ramjet slammed into the ground, rage fuelling him.<p>

He saw Dreadwing try to drag himself across Unicron's landscape, spilling energon from where Dirge had punctured him. Slowly, cruelly, Ramjet began to stalk his steps.

Dreadwing hadn't noticed him, falling to his knees in pain. He began to crawl, leaving a trail of purple energon.

_Unicron's blood… _Ramjet realised. _An outcast's blood…_

He withdrew and axe from within, his plates shifting and scratching. Dreadwing paused, then crawled faster.

"Where are you running to, Dreadwing?" Ramjet spat. "Cybertron? Earth? The stars themselves?"

Dreadwing just tried to crawl faster.

"There is no escape now," Ramjet continued, pacing closer. "Surely you must realise that?"

Dreadwing stopped crawling. He sighed painfully and sat up, not looking at Ramjet.

"What was it all for, Dreadwing?" Ramjet hissed as he stood over him, axe ready. "Why turn your back on us?"

Dreadwing stared at the ground, as if time stood still. "I don't expect you to understand," he whispered.

Ramjet looked down in disgust, before sighing regretfully.

"You fool," Ramjet muttered. "You were never cut out for war, Dreadwing. I should never have shown you Earth, shown you the changing times. Once a traitor, always a traitor."

"My loyalty," Dreadwing whispered in rage, "Is to Cybertron."

Ramjet kicked Dreadwing in the face, sending the cybertronian sprawling.

"CYBERTRON IS DEAD!" Ramjet nearly screamed. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?"

He spread his arms out wide.

"THIS IS ALL WE HAVE LEFT! WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE, A SECOND CHANCE TO CHANGE THINGS! AND WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU THREW IT ALL AWAY FOR CYBERTRON'S MURDERER!"

"We are all to blame for our home's destruction…" Dreadwing muttered. "I just wanted to feel the sun again…"

Ramjet looked down on the other cybertronian, bleeding out onto a god, and almost felt pity.

"You sad sack of shit," Ramjet spat. "You're not even worth the energy to finish off. The sad thing is how long I allowed you to be in my command. I always knew this day would come. And now…"

"And now you must watch as your entire world cascades around you."

"Goodbye, Dreadwing. I hope the slow death is painful."

Ramjet turned away and that was his mistake.

Dreadwing fired his blaster straight into Ramjet's back, blowing a huge hole in the cybertronian. Ramjet screamed, transformed, and shot away, his axe forgotten on the surface.

"A dog with no legs, no arms and no youth," Dreadwing whispered. "Can still bite."

* * *

><p>"Is this it?" Starscream muttered. "These are all that remain of the Seekers?"<p>

Thundercracker chuckled, Flatline shrugged, Skyrender looked down and Crashdive grunted. Including himself, Starscream realised that of his once great air brigade, only five remained. One was young and stupid, one was mute and crazy, one was insane and creepy and only the last one was of any true worth. Sure, Crashdive could handle himself in a fight, Thundercracker went without saying, but Starscream knew too little about Skyrender, and Flatline was a medic.

"It seems so, sir," Thundercracker grunted. "Which means if us four kill an Autobot each, Megatron can beat Optimus in a fair fight."

Starscream chuckled. "I thought you were going to be the one to kill Optimus?"

"I am, sir. But that doesn't mean Megatron can't soften him up first."

"What the fuck are you guys on about?" Skyrender moaned. "Frankly, all I hear nowadays are assholes talking about a load of shit that no-one cares about! Let's just get to the fighting!"

Crashdive gave a grunt, indicating obvious reluctant agreement.

"If it may please you, Commander Starscream," Flatline wheedled. "As I am more of a… support fighter, could I perhaps refrain from going into battle and—"

"Flatline, this is _the _final battle," Starscream uttered. "If we destroy the Autobots here, then it's over. The war is won. All that we've worked for, for these thousands upon thousands of years, will finally be realised. If you don't want to be a part of that, I'll kill you myself."

Flatline hurriedly nodded. The Decepticons got ready.

Starscream heard the sounds of distant battle.

"For Cybertron," he uttered.

The bottom of the battleshipopened up.

"Woah," Thundercracker muttered as he looked down.

Hundreds of devastated and destroyed drones lined Unicron's surface.

And the five Autobots still fought.

"CHARGE!" Starscream roared.

The last of the Seekers took flight.

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" Marcus asked in wonder as he was led through the devastated streets of Washington D.C.<p>

"It's the rebellion!" the soldier told him with a grin. "These alien fucks are getting their asses whooped!"

Tanks and troop carriers rolled down avenues. Soldiers ran with rifles raised, as American flags waved proudly in the air. Marcus looked down and saw hideous corpses of metal and man.

"What are those?" he asked fearfully.

"The Answerers. That's what you get if you ally yourself with xenos!"

Marcus was led past a group of celebrating soldiers, having just liberated a factory filled with women who had been working on weapons that didn't even work. They had just been put there for something to do, rather than plan what was now just happening.

He entered hastily erected tent. And as much as he disliked the man sat behind the desk, (who had lost weight and gained facial hair) Marcus's heart soared at the sight of a familiar face.

"Twist!" General Mason jubilantly cried. "Now all we're missing is the douchebag with the sunglasses!"

And then Marcus saw her. He saw her smile.

He smiled as well.

And all of a sudden, he cared about dying.

* * *

><p>"No, please, spare me!" Mindwipe cried.<p>

"Spare _me_ your screams," Sideswipe spat, before driving his blade through the Decepticon's face.

But they kept on coming. For every Decepticon or cybertronian, there were twenty-five drones. Optimus set the pace, tearing through the drones with sword and axe, while Mirage and Ratchet teamed up, back-to-back, beating any who came close. Arcee worked by herself, fast as lightning as she tore through the drones.

But Sideswipe couldn't kid himself; they were tiring. And the enemy kept on coming. Something would have to give, or they would perish.

"Shockwave's probably going to wait until we're dead," Arcee cried as her blade decapitated another Decepticon, "And then detonate the bomb!"

"We shouldn't have trusted him," Mirage hissed as a laser nicked his shoulder.

"We had no choice!" Optimus roared as he punched another drone into oblivion. "Now keep fighting!"

Arcee spotted three figures among the assault.

"The Dreads are coming up the right!" she screamed.

Sideswipe leapt into action as Hatchet came roaring over the piles of corpses. A claw swatted one of Sideswipe's blades away as he was pinned to the floor by the savage Decepticon.

"Where's your yellow friend?" Hatchet snarled with a terrifying grin. He raised a claw for the final blow—

Arcee drove her sword into his back, causing the Decepticon to scream with pain. It began leaping about, trying to throw the small Autobot off. Sideswipe leapt to his feet, only for Crowbar to attack with a spiked mace.

Sideswipe jumped back, launching a missile into Crowbar's chest as he did so. The flaming Decepticon was thrown back into a pile of corpses, as Crankcase appeared and fired a blaster; the shot travelled straight into Sideswipe's right arm, blowing it off.

As the injured Crowbar got to his feet, the two Dreads closed down the wounded Autobot.

Meanwhile, Arcee was riding Hatchet like a buffalo, driving her blade in and out of the raging beast.

Sideswipe looked around.

Optimus was engaging Barricade and four drones, while Mirage and Ratchet were pinned down by an entire platoon of the automatons.

"Hey, guys," Sideswipe muttered as he clutched the painful stump of his arm. "I've just got out of the hospital… try and go easy on me…"

Crowbar grinned and raised his mace, but Crankcase had a curious look on his face.

"Why have the little pigs come out to play?" he wondered. "And why play with rabid wolves?"

"Because… someone needs… to put you guys down…"

Crowbar launched himself at Sideswipe, who had been milking his injury, and the Autobot rolled out of the way, throwing his blade as he did so. It caught the Decepticon in the leg, bringing him to the ground, roaring. Sideswipe leapt at him, dodging another blast from Crankcase, grabbing Crowbar around the neck with his remaining arm. As Crankcase raised his blaster to fire again, Sideswipe pulled Crowbar in-between them.

"You shoot, you kill him," Sideswipe declared.

Crankcase hesitated a second. Then he grinned.

_Uh-oh._

Crankcase fired again and again, each shot tearing apart Crowbar and smashing Sideswipe back. As Crowbar's burning corpse fell to the ground, Sideswipe was sent screaming into a pile of burning bodies. He groaned with pain as Crankcase came slithering towards him, taking his time with each dreaded step.

Sideswipe looked up to see a blaster pointed squarely in his face.

"Wolves don't play," Crankcase hissed. "Stupid piggies should've known."

A guttural, mournful scream sounded across the battlefield.

Hatchet had slowed to a crawl as Arcee held the blade deep inside. She had grown too tired to take it out and stab again while Hatchet was too tired to throw her off.

Finally, with a tired growl, Hatchet slumped to the ground, dead, while Arcee rolled off in exhaustion.

Crankcase was momentarily distracted. It was all Sideswipe needed.

Launching a savage kick, Sideswipe snapped Crankcase's knee, while grabbing the blaster with his hand. As Crankcase fell back, Sideswipe turned the blaster on its master. As Crankcase's face realised it, too late, Sideswipe blew his head apart.

The smoking cadaver hit the floor.

"Optimus," Sideswipe gasped as he felt his painful stump. "I'm sorry… I'm out…"

"_Look up._"

Sideswipe looked up.

"Oh no…"

Five figures descended.

The Seekers.

* * *

><p>"Skyrender, take the wounded one."<p>

"Yes, boss."

"Flatline, take out their medic. Go with him, Crashdive. Thundercracker, destroy the female."

"With pleasure."

Starscream saw Optimus looking up at him.

_Megatron won't have the opportunity to crush you, Prime… you'll be long dead before he arrives._

* * *

><p>He bled through space, trying to find help… trying to get away from everything.<p>

_Let them fight it out on top… see who comes out the other side…_

He spotted two figures, flying slowly towards the closed maw.

_I… where has he been?_

Ramjet flew towards the two Decepticons, bleeding dark energon through the void.

"S-Shockwave!" Ramjet cried. "Wh-Why aren't you at the b-battle?"

Shockwave and Astrotrain looked up.

"Because I am waiting, Ramjet," Shockwave intoned.

"W-Waiting?" Ramjet heaved, coughing up a little bit of energon. "F-For what?"

And then the maw opened.

Slowly, steadily, the huge mouth of Unicron opened. Hundreds of miles in diameter, with teeth as large as skyscrapers, the maw opened up.

Ramjet gaped at the sheer size and complexity of it all, even thought he had seen it so many times before.

"W-Who… who ordered it to move?" he whispered.

"Sixshot," Shockwave answered. "He's taking matters into his own hands; he's directing Unicron to devour the Earth."

Ramjet chuckled. "He might be c-crazy… b-but at least h-he knows what he's… doing…"

"It's a good thing the open mouth leads right to the core," Astrotrain chuckled. "Otherwise this plan would've been so much harder."

Ramjet turned in confusion. Then it clicked.

"Y-You…"

Shockwave moved past Ramjet, carrying the nuke, heading towards the open maw. Ramjet sighed.

"I g-guess…" he whispered. "That was… well played…"

"Indeed it was," Astrotrain replied, nonchalant, drawing a blaster off his back. "Any last words, 'herald'?"

Ramjet frowned at Astrotrain before sighing.

"Last words…" Ramjet spat. "Are for pussies."

One shot smashed through Ramjet's spark, sending his corpse tumbling through the darkness.

Astrotrain spent a few seconds reflecting on it, before hurrying to catch his commander.

He flew into the abyss.

* * *

><p>"Arcee," Thundercracker uttered, his axes unfolding. "How many times have we met? I'm sure I've killed you before…"<p>

"My sisters have died twice over," Arcee said, barely containing her rage. "Thanks to you and that creep. I shouldn't even be here. But, in a way, I should thank you; I get one last chance to finish you off for good."

"As you wish," Thundercracker chuckled.

She charged him, swinging her blade, roaring at the top of her lungs. Thundercracker met her charge with an axe swipe, which she neatly dodged over, before charging straight at him.

Flatline pinned Ratchet to the ground with his descent while Crashdive was locked in battle with Mirage. The smaller Autobot dodged back against the lumbering Seeker, while the one-eyed Decepticon taunted the Autobot medic;

"There a so few of you!" Flatline cackled. "Maybe I'll hang you up in a museum, have people pay to see you all!"

Ratchet's answer was to punch the Decepticon in the face, pushing him back.

Skyrender landed in front of Sideswipe.

"Little shit," Skyrender hissed, swinging his scythe in an arc. "Little one-armed shit, but I gotta keep my caution; you don't underestimate anyone who can kill the Dreads. Gotta watch the little shit, but close in all the fucking same—"

"Oh, just shut up!" Sideswipe roared and charged, blaster in hand, using it to batter the surprised Skyrender.

Starscream likewise landed in front of his prey.

"So then, Prime," the Decepticon commander hissed. "Any last words?"

Optimus frowned. "Starscream, you could have been someone once. You could have helped us to victory; your contempt for Megatron isn't a secret. You could have been a hero. But for all the crimes you've committed… for all the people you've killed… Sam, still remembered… you are going to die here, and now. You don't deserve redemption."

"Arrogant Prime," Starscream snarled, leaping at him. "YOU DON'T DECIDE MY FATE!"

The five Seekers duelled the five Autobots, as Megatron watched from far above.

* * *

><p>"<em>The situation is contained, Lord Soundwave,<em>" Sixshot uttered from far away. "_While the Decepticons fight the Autobots, the Destroyer will devour the Earth._"

"Excellent," Soundwave replied, as the _Caliginous _sped towards Unicron. "You seem to be the only competent soldier at the moment, Sixshot."

There was a distant grunt.

"_Lord Soundwave…_"

"Yes?"

"_I'm done._"

Soundwave frowned.

"What?"

"_I'm done. I'm retiring. I'm out._"

Soundwave's fury returned. "What are you talking about?" he thundered.

"_I've set Unicron on a course with Earth and that's my last act. The rest is up to you. I have more important matters to take care of._"

"M-More important matters? What in Primus's name are you talking about?"

"_There's a kid on the way, looking for a showdown. I'm not about to disappoint him._"

The line was cut. Soundwave fumed in silence.

"Once this is over," he swore. "I'll kill every last one of them."

* * *

><p>Starscream's buzzsaw tore at Optimus's armour, as the tired Prime fell back. Behind the Seeker, Barricade waited patiently with blaster in hand, in case Starscream should fall.<p>

_I can't keep this up_, Optimus realised. _I'm only inviting a mistake and when I make it…_

Starscream's sharp fingers barely missed tearing Optimus's face, as the Autobot raised his keyblade in defence. It's hot, sharp surface couldn't be brought round to stab at the bludgeoning Decepticon. Starscream kept on coming, preventing Optimus from launching any suitable counter-attack, while the other Seekers beat down on the other Autobots.

"You can't win, Prime," Starscream hissed. "Even if you kill me and my soldiers, there are hundreds more willing to take my place."

"Fine then," Optimus spat. "But at least you'll be dead."

Starscream hesitated a second, allowing Optimus to turn the tables. Now the Prime attacked, forcing Starscream to dodge the huge, fatal strikes from the Autobot's sword.

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Flatline were locked in stalemate, while Mirage dodged everything that Crashdive threw at him. Although Crashdive was much larger and faster, the Autobot was smaller and quicker, compensating for his huge handicap. Arcee was fighting off a disinterested Thundercracker, but the most one-sided fight was with Sideswipe and Skyrender.

The young Decepticon's youth, ferocity and huge weapon couldn't compare to a one-armed, exhausted Sideswipe. The Autobot's armour was torn off and torn away, screaming as he was pushed back into the huge palace.

"Little shit should have stayed at home," Skyrender hissed, "And festered."

Sideswipe couldn't even make a reply. Skyrender's scythe cut the very air as he swung it round. With a terrible blow, it cut Sideswipe open at the waist, pouring energon out in lifeless pool. The Autobot fell onto the ground, groaning, utterly defeated.

"Little shits waste," Skyrender chuckled. "You stupid bastard. WHO WANTS SOME?"

Skyrender exited the palace, swinging the scythe.

* * *

><p>Thundercracker and Arcee broke off, allowing Thundercracker to review the situation.<p>

He grinned.

"It seems one of your friends won't be making it," he uttered.

Arcee turned quickly, to see Skyrender making his way to the distracted Optimus.

"No," she gasped.

She turned back, but Thundercracker was gone.

She frowned, but wasted no more time as she ran towards Skyrender.

It was at that moment Crashdive began to tire of chasing Mirage.

Flatline broke off from his fight with Ratchet to come close.

"I can't take him," Flatline whispered, panicking. "You have a plan?"

Crashdive grinned. Flatline became scared.

With a sound so loud and so deep, Crashdive let off a sonic boom.

Flatline, who was closest, was knocked unconscious and became deaf simply from the distance, crashing into drone corpses in his state of sleep. Mirage and Ratchet were thrown back, clutching their audio receptors in pain, while Arcee was chucked about like ragdoll, sent flying into the palace. As a student of the art, Skyrender had pre-prepared for such a manoeuvre, taking only a cautious step back, before continuing his advance on Optimus. The Prime himself was forced back, but so was Starscream, who clutched his head and roared.

As everyone was distracted, Crashdive leapt into the air above the immobile Mirage, his scimitar raised high…

Arcee's serrated blade came flying out the palace, catching the Seeker in the mouth. Crashdive roared as his attack came to a plummeting drop, smashing into the drone corpses. Finding the blade stuck in his mouth, he gargled a curse, transformed, and took off.

Flatline broke out of his unconscious state, to see Ratchet and Mirage staring down at him.

He raised his hands meekly.

"I surrender," he pleaded.

Mirage and Ratchet looked at each other.

"He is surrendering," Ratchet said, shaking his head. "I can't kill him."

"Good for you, doc," Mirage replied, his blades appearing. "I have no qualms about this snake."

Flatline's single optic flashed with panic. "N-No, wait—!"

With a scrape of metal on metal, Mirage's blades tore through Flatline's head.

* * *

><p>Optimus launched a kick into Starscream's chest, shattering a few ribs and forcing the Seeker to the ground.<p>

Starscream looked up, defeat written across his face.

"You've cheated death too many times to count," Optimus hissed. "Goodbye, Starscream."

Optimus then screamed as a scythe's blade tore through his shoulder.

"I got the fucker, boss!" Skyrender cried as Starscream transformed and escaped.

Optimus turned so quickly and so violently, that Skyrender's weapon of choice was still left embedded in its victim. The furious Prime face the unarmed Seeker.

Skyrender looked up, ire in his optics.

"Ah, shit."

With a huge charge and terrifying roar, Optimus smashed his keyblade through Skyrender's chest, before driving it upwards towards his head. As they both smashed into the junk-ridden floor, Skyrender was split in half by the force of Optimus's attack.

Withdrawing his energon-soaked blade from the corpse, Optimus looked around, beyond exhaustion.

Barricade, with a hundred drones, faced off against him.

"Optimus Prime," he uttered. "I will not steal this victory from my lord."

He stepped aside, revealing a much more imposing figure.

He stood tall and proud, yet menacing and terrifying. His face, a mask of death. His claws, sharp and ready. His whole body shook with expectation… expectation of a final ultimatum, a fight to last the aeons.

"Optimus," Megatron muttered. "How many times have we fought?"

Optimus tore out the scythe in his back and flung it away. "Enough," he spat.

"No, not enough. Never enough. It's as if us two were meant to start the war, as if beings beyond our knowledge and vision wanted to see us fight again and again, until a victor is decided. That victor will—"

Optimus launched a punch that smashed into Megatron's face, forcing the Decepticon back a few surprised steps.

The Prime turned to look at the other Autobots. "Find Sideswipe and get through the palace! Run!"

He turned back, as the Autobots made good their escape.

"This is to be our final battle, Megatron," Optimus uttered. "So let's just end it. Now."

Megatron's face was a terrifying snarl.

"So be it."

* * *

><p>"Can you stop suffering mortal wounds, please?" Ratchet sighed as he picked up Sideswipe and ran.<p>

"Optimus is alone out there!" Arcee cried. "We've got to go back and help him!"

"He wanted us out of the fighting because he doesn't want help," Mirage replied. "That battle was between him and Megatron. That rivalry surpasses even us."

"But there's an army out there—!" Arcee continued, just as the drone army appeared at the broken wall.

The three Autobots realised they were heavily outnumbered and carrying wounded.

"You know, he _did_ want us to flee…" Arcee told herself.

"That he did," Mirage agreed as he began to run. "So let's go!"

The three Autobots ran for it, pursued by an army of drones.

* * *

><p>As the Autobots fled from an indomitable threat…<p>

As Optimus and Megatron fought for the very last time…

As an insane Seeker met the monster he created…

As a gunslinger disappeared into the wastes…

As Soundwave arrived over the Destroyer…

Unicron came closer, hungry.

Every child is hungry.


	44. A Stairway to Heaven Part III

Megatron smashed his fist into Optimus's face, shards of metal flying everywhere. The Prime was forced back, raising his blade and axe as the Decepticon leader pushed hard.

"Through all that we've seen," he growled. "Through all that we've done… it ends here."

Megatron's hand-blade clanged off Optimus's axe, the force of which wobbled the Prime.

"The sad thing is," Optimus uttered, breathing hard, "Is that this could have all been avoided. It was the choices _you _made… someone I could once call brother."

"It won't matter once you're dead," Megatron replied as he paced forward. "I shall go on to lead this… creature and use it to take everything I ever wanted… including the lives of every disgusting insect on that rock."

Optimus frowned. "We shall see. But one thing is for certain…"

He readied his weapons, edging the Decepticon on.

"One shall stand."

Megatron gave a savage grin and charged.

"One shall fall!"

* * *

><p><span>Episode 40: A Stairway to Heaven (Part III)<span>

_And as we wind on down the road__  
>Our shadows taller than our soul<em>_  
>There walks a lady we all know<em>_  
>Who shines white light and wants to show<em>_…__  
><em>_**How everything still turns to gold**__**  
><strong>__And if you listen very hard__…__  
>The tune will come to you at last<em>_  
>When all is one and one is all<em>_  
>To be a rock and not to roll<em>

* * *

><p>"Sir, the Answerers near the Lincoln Memorial have been destroyed!"<p>

"We've been contacted by resistance fighters from Oregon, Nebraska and Nevada!"

"General, there's an uprising on the west coast! Some guy named Simmons is leading the charge!"

Marcus and Stacy walked in a daze through the armed camps, as soldiers of all ages and nationality went about orders: some ran to the front lines, clearing up the demonic Answerers, others ran logistics, grabbing ammo and equipment, while tents were hastily erected to provide treatment to those wounded throughout the ruined city.

They followed General Mason, the only person they knew who was still alive.

"Where's Epps?" Marcus asked.

"We have no idea?"

"Peterson? Gabriel? Rickenrarl?"

"Sorry kids, but it seems I'm the only soldier from HARP who got out."

"What about the Autobots?" Stacy added hurriedly.

Mason turned his head to look at her as they walked, a disapproving glance in his eyes.

"If we find the Autobots," Mason said firmly, "We're killing them."

The kids stopped in their tracks. They looked up at Mason, shock all over their faces.

Mason saw them. Before they could utter a word in protest, he explained in an angry, yet hushed tone.

"Look around you," he uttered. "What do you see? You're no longer kids. What you see are men and women, dying and fighting, houses wrecked, homes destroyed, countries overturned. And why is this? Because of their war. If the Autobots and the Decepticons had never come here, we wouldn't be here either. We would be living in peace, living in a world free of global domination, free of tyranny… free of these aliens. The Autobots are as much to blame as the Decepticons for this tragedy. For that reason, if they dare show their faces, they're doing down."

Stacy looked up, horrified. "You can't be serious. Optimus and the others are our friends!"

Mason looked down, his face dark, before turning away.

"They were never our friends; they were our guests. And they have outstayed their welcome."

* * *

><p>Five miles wide and many more deeper, a wall of fire shot into the sky.<p>

The heat of Unicron's huge engines blistered the skin of both Megatron and Prime as they fought. The huge column of fire seemed to stretch on forever, as high as it was wide. When it died down, with the Destroyer having moved further into position, the two cybertronians still fought.

Fought for the lives of everyone.

Fought for the fate of the galaxy.

* * *

><p>"Commander Soundwave," Barricade uttered as Soundwave landed with another detachment of drones. "Lord Megatron is in the process of destroying Prime. The rest of the Autobots are being pursued by drones through the… palace."<p>

"You are out of date, lieutenant," Soundwave replied. "I am in full command. I am the Lord High Protector. Megatron has been demoted."

"_Lord _Megatron is in command of the Decepticons," Barricade replied. "Your faction does not rule the Decepticons, Soundwave."

Soundwave frowned, but ignored Barricade. He motioned the drones to follow him as they pressed forward, past Barricades squad of Decepticons.

"Where are you going?" Barricade asked, angry.

"If your lord fails to kill Optimus, as he has so many times before, then I will be there to pick up the pieces."

* * *

><p>Crashdive stalked the Autobots.<p>

He could smell them, running through the palace, not transforming as to leave the wounded behind. They were trying to escape. They were exhausted,

But the drones didn't tire.

Neither did Crashdive.

He paced across the roof, his scimitar ready to cut through and have the literal drop on them…

"You."

Crashdive looked up, curious.

There stood a small figure, human-sized and ugly. In the dark of Unicron, she was jet-black and clawed, only a blue optic shining through. She had once been human… but out here, forgotten and uncaring, she had degenerated into a monster.

She reached up and turned the nob on her arm three times.

"The extra energon will overload my senses and clog up my arteries," she whispered. "It will kill me. But not instantly. The boost will last around three minutes. That's all I need to kill you."

Crashdive grinned.

"Bitch got bite," he chuckled. "But how sharp her teeth?"

Kaminari leapt at him as fast as she could, her claws outstretched.

And screaming.

* * *

><p>It was pitch black and hungry mouths were all around.<p>

Pieces of luna rock floated in the air, before being sucked in by millions upon millions of mouths all across the inside of Unicron.

Two figures navigated their way through the huge creature, which was unknowing of their presence except when short stabs of pain flared; the result of Shockwave and his only subordinate clearing out any mouths that were in their way.

"Uh, sir," Astrotrain whispered worriedly, "How far from the core are we?"

"There is another mile to go."

Astrotrain looked at all the mouths. He shivered, ever so slightly.

Shockwave stopped.

"You are scared," he uttered, not a question or a guess, but a fact.

"There is no light down here," Astrotrain muttered. "And only a single life, plundering ever onwards to simply eat. This is a place of… death."

"Incorrect. It is a place of life; namely, the greatest and most unexpected source of life in the known universe. This is a marvel, Astrotrain, and you should admire it."

"Why? It's soon to die."

"That is exactly why you should admire it. If the humans were told their sun was to expire tomorrow, they would all go blind from staring at it."

Astrotrain halted. Shockwave did as well.

"If it would please you, sir," Astrotrain muttered. "I would leave."

Shockwave turned and stared.

He took the longest pause in his life, weighing up every possible outcome and reason, every calculation and possibility. It took him twelve seconds.

"Astrotrain," he uttered. "As a reward for your loyalty and continued successes, this will be your final order."

"Yes sir."

"Leave and flee to Mars."

Astrotrain was taken aback. "…Sir?"

"If you don't, then there is high chance of your forthcoming death. If you follow my orders, and you wait out the coming battle, you will survive."

"And then sir?"

Shockwave was silent.

Astrotrain nodded hurriedly. "In that case… goodbye, Shockwave."

Shockwave turned back, carrying the nuke's case under his arm.

And Astrotrain transformed, shooting through the darkness, as fast as he could.

_Free… at last._

_I. Have. Won._

* * *

><p>"You think this is victory?" Optimus asked as Megatron landed another furious blow upon the Prime's keyblade.<p>

"It is what it is, Optimus," Megatron chuckled. "And you will be dead."

Megatron pressed his advantage.

It was at this point that Optimus realised that if Megatron continued, Optimus would die.

"You're tiring," Megatron uttered, realising the same thing, as he continued his deadly barrage. "It's over."

"Good."

The two of them broke off from combat to see who spoke.

Standing on a pile of Unicron's junkyard skin, Soundwave looked down approvingly.

"Megatron, I hope this won't last long," he said.

Megatron pointed an accusing finger at Soundwave. "Stay out of this, commander! I will finish Prime when I decide to finish him!"

Soundwave looked down. "Then I hope you will finish Prime quickly. We need to find Shockwave."

Megatron turned away, enraged, attacking Optimus with everything he had… something Optimus could find no counter-attack to.

But as he desperately tried to fight back, he looked at both Megatron and Soundwave again.

And went all-in on one last hand…

"Yet again, Megatron," Optimus breathed hard, "You are nothing more than a witting pawn."

Megatron didn't let up his assault, but didn't answer.

"It's the exact same situation that killed Sentinel and destroyed Cybertron."

But Soundwave wasn't the master of intelligence for nothing. For one, he had great hearing… and wasn't about to let Optimus win with words.

"Really, Prime?" Soundwave muttered. "Just as Megatron is about to claim his victory, you try to mess with his head? Poisoning one's mind takes a bit more subtlety; after all, I wrote the book on it."

"You think this creature is just going to hand power over to you?" Optimus cried as an enraged blow gashed his shoulder. "This is Soundwave we're talking about! He's the smartest being in the known universe; he'll use you up… then throw you away!"

"The last time I was convinced of this," Megatron thundered as he fought, "You stabbed me in the back…"

"Only to save the humans," Optimus replied. "If you had lived, you would have returned…"

"And you expect me to believe you now?"

"No, I expect you to kill me now. But when Soundwave has you executed in front of your own troops, just remember who warned you."

And Optimus knew he had done it.

Megatron worked out the truth and made a plan accordingly; once Optimus was dead, he'd turn his attention to Soundwave. This plan didn't benefit Optimus at all, although he had expected it.

Optimus was banking on Soundwave recognising Megatron's future betrayal. And also making a plan accordingly.

It didn't give him much of a chance… but it was a chance.

And it paid off.

Soundwave saw the cogs working in Megatron's mind. He drew his sonic cannons from within.

"How… disappointing," he murmured. "A wounded lion is still a lion. But, Optimus, you forget the City of Angels, so long ago; I crushed you utterly. Both of you see me as nothing more than a spy, an extremely good one at that. But I've died one too many times to let it happen again."

As Megatron and Optimus broke away from one another to face the new, approaching threat, Optimus turned to look at Megatron.

"One last battle together, brother?"

"Once this bookworm's dead, you're next, Optimus."

Soundwave looked at the two of them.

"A wounded Prime and a tired Megatron…" Soundwave uttered as his cannons powered up.

Both Optimus Prime and Megatron charged, together.

"Elementary."

* * *

><p>Barricade and the other Decepticons tore through the drones.<p>

"Protect Lord Megatron!" he roared. He looked around him, as the drones were slaughtered.

_These are the last of the Decepticons…_

_How did it come to this?_

He looked to where Megatron, Prime and Soundwave fought. Three different leaders, three different visions…

And there could only be one winner.

Barricade decided to influence who it wasn't going to be.

"Contain the drones," he ordered one of the few left. "And if Megatron begins losing, kill the other two."

"Where are you going, sir?"

"I'm going to find whoever's piloting this thing," he uttered, stamping the ground, "And murder him. Also, if there's a drone control switch, there's a chance it's gonna be there."

He transformed and roared off, towards the tower in the distance.

* * *

><p>Surrounded by mouths, Shockwave stared at the core.<p>

It glowed a dull purple, almost rhythmically, pulsing like a heart. It seemed to be made of both metal and glass, filled with life… a life that could only be created by accident. A life that could never be replicated nor resurrected.

"Death is too cheap for one such as you," Shockwave uttered. "And one such as you would be smarter than that. Speak now, or die."

There was silence.

Then…

**Spare us.**

"I knew it," Shockwave intoned. "Something like you could only be sentient. Why remain quiet, even to Ramjet?"

**Give them a hammer and they shall make nails.**

Shockwave nodded. "You knew they would deliver you food."

**Of course. Our children have always been most resilient. But the humans even more.**

Shockwave worked it out. "You have a connection with the Allspark."

**Yes. The last of it resides in the human child named Marcus Twist. It, like us, has gained awareness but has not… responded well.**

"You took over Space Case. That was your first plan."

**The humans will become much more dangerous than we ever could be. We had to act. When we felt the connection with our child, we pervaded his conscious mind… but, in the end, his actions were his own. That was why our plan failed.**

"Ramjet came next."

**We felt his greed upon his resurrection. We decided to let him be. He would eventually start all of this. For that, we respected him. There was no need for you to kill him.**

"I am clearing house."

**Indeed, you are. But why us?**

"You are too powerful. I am second only to you. It is a simple matter of ground being gained."

**That, and you like killing.**

"I do not know of 'like'. I only know that killing is more satisfying than not killing."

**Understandable, if refutable. Please spare us. We would raise you high.**

"I have no need of your power. I am content with the rest of my life."

**You have planned your death?**

"I am unique in that. It is why I do not fear anything."

**In that case, you are undoubtedly the most powerful. We are decided. We shall die.**

"Excellent. Although study of you would prove valuable, time is short."

**We ask you of a favour. We have corresponded with the Allspark in the boy, who worked with Soundwave to achieve Decepticon supremacy and survival. If we are to die, we wish for it to die as well.**

"Why?"

**Clearing house, of course. If we are to die, everyone else should… with the exception of our children.**

"The Allspark and its host will fit into my plans."

**Thank you. We are ready to die.**

"No, you are not. You may no longer fear the wait to death, but you still fear it."

**You have died before. What was it like?**

"I cannot remember. But I do remember the pain. For you, it will be over quickly."

**Thank you.**

"I care not for your thanks."

Leaving the armed nuke behind, Shockwave made his way back through the darkness, searching for the light.

* * *

><p><strong>But Malevolus knows of his forthcoming death.<strong>

**Because of what we've done, it is unavoidable.**

**The boy will die.**

**The spark will die.**

**But so will our children.**

**Extinction is something we deserve. For resurrecting our children, we have entwined our fate with those we have influenced.**

**No-one deserves anything in life.**

**But death is coming.**

**Death is arriving.**

**We are scared.**

**We have been doomed from the start.**

**We are the dead.**

* * *

><p>Optimus's fighting chance for survival took a terminal dip. So did Megatron's.<p>

Soundwave was flat-out dominating.

A shot from Megatron found only air, and the returning sonic blast shredded away his armour. When Optimus tried to get in close, Soundwave's speed was unmatched. Optimus's axe was smashed to pieces and a close range sonic blast tore away his chest armour, revealing his spark underneath. It also blew him back another two hundred metres.

"Optimus is a skeleton and Megatron wasted his energy," Soundwave sighed. "I expected a challenge from the best."

"You were loyal," Megatron spat. "What happened to you?"

"Dying once made me rethink my position," Soundwave uttered. "Dying twice made me change it."

Two more sonic blasts floored Megatron.

"Loyalty is dead," Soundwave muttered. "There is no such thing as true loyalty. I learned this when you betrayed Optimus on Cybertron. I realised it fully when Optimus betrayed Cybertron. This is a war with no heroes and no villains. This is a war of dwindling conflict, where battles shrink with the troop sizes. There were once grand armies. And through betrayal, you have both destroyed them all."

The huge column of fire burst into the air again. Sixshot was still directing Unicron to face the Earth. The plan was still working.

"Once you are both dead and the Earth destroyed," Soundwave continued. "The war will be over. Then the claiming of the stars will begin—"

"FOR LORD MEGATRON!" screamed several voices. Soundwave turned in shock as the last of the Decepticons charged him, having finished off Soundwave's drone bodyguards.

A blast caught Soundwave in the knee. His response was to blow the attacking Decepticons away with two blasts from his sonic cannons. Limbs went flying and heads rolled as smoking bodies hit the ground. Soundwave turned, all too late.

Megatron knocked one of the cannons out of his hands, before following up with a knee to the gut.

Soundwave spun away, using his remaining sonic blaster to destroy Megatron's claw-cannon. The Decepticon transformed the smoking blaster back into his claws and raked them across Soundwave's face, tearing out an optic. The Decepticon grabbed Soundwave by head and leg and raised him high overhead.

"NO!" Soundwave roared as Megatron paced towards the huge column of fire arcing into space. "STOP! MEGATRON!"

"This," Megatron growled. "Is what loyalty can do."

"NOOOOOOOO—!"

Megatron threw him in.

The thrust and heat tore Soundwave's armour apart and reduced it to ash. His face melted and his remaining optic torn to atoms—

Then the fire stopped. Soundwave's smoking body hung in space for only a second, over a pit of huge size.

Then he dropped.

All the way down to Unicron's beating heart.

And then the nuke exploded.

* * *

><p>Detonating in the bowels of hell, the blast eradicated Unicron's heart, every sliver of dark energon being utterly destroyed in the blast. One last pillar of fire came out every thruster, the very creature shook with the force of an earthquake…<p>

And then it went dark.

Fires dissipated. Lights went out. Loose pieces of metal floated into the air.

All across the creature, any resurrected soldier returned to zero. They keeled over and died, the source of their dark energon completely eradicated. The god went dark.

Far above the Earth, ships with no captain nor crew fell towards the Earth, burning and dissipating in the atmosphere. Meteors fell to Earth, some smashing into the ground, many more falling into the ocean.

Across the world, people cheered. Any Answerers not overthrown fell to the ground, their implants and augmentations unpowered.

The world was free.

Unicron was dead.

* * *

><p>But the battle was far from over.<p>

The drones built by factories and powered by shattered core of Cybertron still functioned. They would, just as long as their creator remained alive…

Or they were turned off.

Barricade crept through the tower, his hunt for the pilot postponed. Unicron was dead and its skipper was most likely too. So he searched instead for the drone control switch.

In the silence, he heard someone moving about above.

Floating through the zero gravity, he ascended an empty elevator shaft. He came close to the top.

Someone was moving around.

Lifeless bodies floated by, silent screams at their lips. Their sparks, stopped. Their lives, ended.

This was Unicron's control centre. The palace was for show.

But there was still someone here.

Barricade entered a large room through some double doors. There stood a figure.

A human boy stood on top of the command console in the centre of the bridge. He was investigating the controls, his frown hidden behind his shades.

Barricade withdrew a blaster.

_A human pilot? Of course… if there was a failure, he wouldn't die like the rest._

He pointed the gun at the oblivious child.

"Where is the drone control switch?" Barricade uttered.

Ryder looked up, annoyed.

"The last Decepticon," he muttered. "Lucky bastard."

"This is your last chance; where is the switch?"

Ryder was about to crank out another delay, when he saw something behind Barricade.

He turned and leapt through the air, smashing through the control tower window.

A blast smashed through Barricade's knee. He roared and turned, only for another blast to slam through his chest.

Sixshot looked down at him, a rust cannon in hand, revolvers sheathed.

As Barricade's metabolism began to break down, he managed a single word.

"How…?"

"How am I still alive?" Sixshot whispered. "Simply put, I never died. These fools thought resurrection was another chance at life. Some even committed suicide to join the ranks of those powered by dark energon. Frankly, they're idiots."

He leant closer to the dying Decepticon.

"Death is cheap. Life is invaluable. Once death has you, there's no escaping it. I knew better than these people and I know better than you."

He turned away, as Barricade was reduced to dust.

"But I'm sad," Sixshot whispered. "And tired. Soon it'll be all over for me as well. I did my best, but some things are simply out of your control."

Sixshot left, as the tower began to crumble.

* * *

><p>Kaminari threw up energon, the stuff splashing all over the floor. Not only was she dying from her energon overdose, but her dark energon upgrades had failed her. She only had seconds left.<p>

But Crashdive was worse for wear. Her speed and size had worked against him; he was covered in claw marks from her attacks and he was missing his optic.

"Heheh," Crashdive chuckled painfully. "A bastard with gun can kill a strong bitch… but a mad bitch bites hard…"

"I'll show you this bitch's bite!" Kaminari screamed, launching herself straight at Crashdive's chest. With the sudden lack of gravity, she flew like an arrow, speeding through the sudden lack of air, and smashing, claws first, into Crashdive's chest. He roared as she burrowed into his chest like a rat, tearing apart anything she could get her hands on. Metal shred and she screamed with pain and threw up energon as everything started spinning. Yet she kept clawing, kept fighting, kept stabbing until eventually, she found his spark.

She tore straight through it. With a sudden gasp and sudden lack of air, her heart stopped beating. She curled up in Crashdive's chest as she died, forming into the foetal position.

Crashdive fell to his knees. He coughed up some life fluid and grinned.

"Bitch got me," he hissed. "Good… game. This… was… good…"

With his last act, he fired up his engines and punched through the roof.

* * *

><p>"Are the drones still on us?" Arcee cried.<p>

Ratchet turned around as the Autobots continued running. "They are."

Arcee stopped and turned.

"Enough running," she muttered, exhausted. "I'm going down fighting."

The other three stopped as well.

"Arcee…" Sideswipe began.

"Enough. Running," she uttered. "I'm done. For Optimus, for the Autobots, for Cybertron… I will fight them here."

There was a sound like an explosion. Masonry fell down around them.

Crashdive's corpse hit the floor with a huge crash. Arcee leapt back in shock, as the others readied their weapons.

"What the hell happened to him?" Mirage asked no-one in particular.

"Whatever killed him is a different story," Ratchet realised, grabbing the Seeker's huge scimitar, still crackling with electricity. "We shall forge our own, here."

"A final stand?" Sideswipe asked with a dry laugh. "That's fine by me. I've cheated death way too many times now."

The drones began to get closer, their weapons raised.

"We have the edge in close combat," Arcee muttered. "When they prepare to fire, we charge."

They waited in silence, as the army approached.

"There's still something I can't believe though," Sideswipe muttered.

"What?" Ratchet asked.

"Shockwave came through." He stamped the ground. "Whatever the hell this thing is, it's dead."

"Well, once I've finished off these guys," Arcee chuckled. "He's next."

They laughed, as the drones raised their weapons.

They charged.

* * *

><p>"And that's it," Thundercracker uttered. "The curtain call. The final act ends. The Decepticons are ruined, the Seekers utterly destroyed and Unicron is dead. Whoever's won, it's not us."<p>

The last two Decepticons outside of their leader sat on the dead god.

"But, then again," Thundercracker continued. "If I hadn't resurrected you guys, none of us would be here today."

Starscream laughed, for the first time in a while. "I almost forgot that was you. Indeed Thundercracker, you would have made a better lord than any of us. At least you got things done."

"Not only that, but I killed Harbinger and saved you all from slavery," Thundercracker chuckled. "Frankly, I'm still surprised I'm a lieutenant."

Starscream considered this. "Fine then. Thundercracker, I'm promoting you to commander."

"Thank you, sir. Where's my detachment?"

Starscream spread his arms out wide, indicating the wasteland that was Unicron's corpse.

"Pick any two."

Thundercracker grinned, then raised a gnarly claw. "There's one."

Starscream frowned and peered. He saw a figure crawling across the wastes.

"I don't believe it…" he whispered.

Thundercracker peered as well. He recognised the figure. He laughed.

"It's a small world," he uttered, before standing. "Now, I've got places to be."

Starscream was surprised. "Where are you going?"

"Optimus and Megatron are going to fight. When Optimus wins, I'll kill him."

Starscream gave a low chortle. "What makes you think Optimus will win?"

"It's the final battle. There's no way an honourable and heroic leader like Optimus will lose in the final battle against the ultimate villain."

"Then why kill him?"

Thundercracker curled his claws into a fist. "Because, in a way, he's evil too."

Starscream nodded. "We're all a little evil," he realised. "Some just have the gall to call it justifiable."

Thundercracker began to walk away, but pointed at the crawling figure one last time. "Hear his last words. He'll probably drone on about something revealing you'll care about. Whereas me, I'm just going to find my own way."

"Good luck, commander."

"Thank you, my lord."

Commander Thundercracker transformed and sped out of Starscream's life forever.

The last of Megatron's loyal soldiers, the one who had been least loyal of all, headed down to speak with Dreadwing, the last of Unicron's soldiers, the least loyal of all.

* * *

><p>The two faced each other off.<p>

One last time.

The final time.

One last battle…

"Megatron," Optimus muttered, holding his keyblade in both hands, preparing for the ultimate fight.

"Prime," Megatron snarled, his claws sharp to a point, his fury unimaginable.

They faced one another;

One would stand.

One would fall.

"IT'S TIME TO FINISH THIS!"

They charged at each other, weapons at the ready, in the darkness of a dead god.


	45. A Stairway to Heaven Part IV

This is it. The penultimate chapter. The second-to-last. (Plus an epilogue).

This is where the final battle between Autobot and Decepticon ends. Who will win? Well, I've been forshadowing it since day 1!

As my last note, I spread thanks to all the honest reviews I've received:

**transformers001  
>DeathByLackOfMusic<br>Gamergirl052  
>Answerthecall<br>Megan666  
>Lone Wolf<br>Mytical-Mist-Devil  
>Random Reader<br>5nap-Dragon  
>wacko12<br>Bigfan  
>Catty<br>Toothless-the-nightfury  
>PrimeSPARROW<br>Le-AwEsOmE-One  
>NiGhTFuRy302<br>SizzlingPrime**

But, seriously, you guys (probably mainly girls XD) thanks for all the support! And for those who didn't support, thanks for the attention! :D

This is Dangerous, signing off.

* * *

><p>The Stairway to Heaven stretched far beyond the clouds.<p>

It came to Unicron, like a dark, dooming umbilical cord, connecting the rock to the metal.

As the great fleets, built up by Unicron, fell to Earth at their master's demise, one sad Decepticon clung to the stairway as everything fell around him.

Ratbat, the last of Soundwave's menagerie, gazed sadly across the void.

He had felt his master's passing, for the cruel, second time, and knew he was all alone.

Everyone was dead. The god was dead. His friends were dead. His master was dead.

Everyone was dead. And, although he couldn't understand it fully, he realised that if everyone was dead, why should life matter to one such as him.

He had no goals. He had no hope. He just felt… sad.

And the Stairway began to crumble.

What was created to help advance life, was being destroyed by the lack of it. Whatever plans had been implemented, had failed. Whatever schemes men and monsters had put in place, were irrelevant.

It just came down to whoever was left standing. To fight for the right to live…

But Ratbat didn't understand any of this. He gazed sadly as the huge column, devised as nothing more than a hobby by a being now dead, shattered and broke.

He fell with it, as Earth's gravity pulled them closer to its heart.

Everyone was dead.

No-one seemed to care.

Ratbat, forgotten by all, burned up in the atmosphere.

He did not scream. He did not cry.

It was the end. It was as simple as that.

Hope… dreams… they all became irrelevant.

Everyone was dead.

…Well… not everyone…

But it was promised. It was promised that the Transformers would all die.

And this is how it happened…

* * *

><p><span>Episode 41: A Stairway to Heaven (Part IV)<span>

_Woke up  
>Fell out of bed<br>Dragged a comb across my head  
>Found my way downstairs and drank a cup<br>And looking up;  
>I noticed I was late<br>(Ha Ha Ha)  
>Found my coat<br>And grabbed my hat  
>Made the bus, in seconds flat<br>Found my way upstairs and had a smoke  
>And somebody spoke and I went into a dream…<em>

—**A Day in the Life**

* * *

><p>The streets were deserted. The sun beat down overhead, cooking their skin. The world seemed grey.<p>

But it was this world they walked, Marcus and Stacy, touring the dead streets of Washington D.C.

They were no-one's children. They were free, in a world with no rules left.

Upon seeing that Unicron was no longer moving and the fleet was falling through the sky, the soldiers began celebrating. Most moved out to the surrounding states and cities, liberating whoever was still under the impression they were conquered. Jubilation sounded throughout the world.

Humanity had survived. Casualties notwithstanding… Earth would make it.

After all, if Unicron had gone dark, that meant the Transformers were all dead.

Right?

"Where were you?" Stacy asked as they walked down the ruined streets, still in a daze.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But it was somewhere safe, installed by Soundwave."

Stacy looked at him quizzically, but it was clear Marcus did not want to answer.

"What about you?" he asked quietly.

"It was… a factory," she whispered. "It… It was horrible…"

They continued their walk, the city seeming so much bigger with no-one else around.

"But… but we made it… didn't we?" Stacy asked, a small smile on her lips.

Marcus smiled quickly to avoid the flow of tears.

"_Enjoy these last moments, Twist."_

"Stacy…"

She at him.

"What happens now? The Transformers are all gone and humanity's been split apart. What happens now?"

Stacy looked up at the sun, shielding her eyes.

"I guess… I guess this was all just one big lesson; a lesson told by both the Autobots and the Decepticons. In the end, if we remain split apart, we'll turn out like them…

"I… I think this is our chance for everyone to unite."

Marcus gave a sad little smile as they passed the Hudson river.

"So hope does remain…"

* * *

><p>But the Transformers were not all dead.<p>

At least, not yet…

As the two titans of both Autobots and Decepticons struggled, the last vestiges of Unicron's empire was bleeding out on top of him.

Starscream floated towards Dreadwing, taking his time, as if in a trance.

"Where's your sun now?" he snarled, spitefully.

Dreadwing was sitting down, staring at the floor as energon leaked out into space.

"Look at all your dreams and ambitions, leaking into space!" Starscream spat.

Dreadwing didn't reply.

Starscream stood over him, triumphant. He had made it, while Dreadwing hadn't.

"Where's Soundwave? Where's Ramjet? Where's Shockwave?" Starscream asked. "No matter who you side with or who you look up to, you are left abandoned."

"I once looked up to you," Dreadwing whispered.

That made Starscream pause.

"I looked up to the Decepticons," the turncloak continued. "But you're right; they abandoned me. Why shouldn't I turn against people, when all they do is leave me for dead?"

"Don't blame us for your failings; you were after a source of warmth, a source of light. You were always a fool."

Dreadwing nodded. "We're on the dark side, aren't we? The dark side of this disgusting moon. So I won't die seeing the sun... that, really, was the only true ambition I had."

"Ambition leads to death," Starscream uttered. "I have learned that lesson, as you should have."

Dreadwing looked over to where Optimus and Megatron fought in the distance.

"I thought you hated both of them. You considered them both war criminals, that you would put to justice no matter what. And now? Whoever wins, you won't."

Starscream frowned.

"Where do your loyalties lie, Starscream? With a cause destroyed by its selfish leader, who was brought nothing but wrath and ruin to the once great Decepticons? With a Prime who has doomed his homeworld, doomed his race and almost doomed another? Or does it lie with yourself, to know who is wrong and who is right? This is the meaning of loyalty, Starscream; is life to be loyal to one's better, or one's self? I was loyal to only myself… and look what it cost me…

"And yet… I feel relief. I feel like my life hasn't been a waste. When I die, so does the last piece of Unicron's grip in this universe. I've only lived so long because I'm an AI anyway… but I guess none of that matters now. I go now to whatever fate receives me… and I leave you with your choices. Maybe to die for what is right, is better than living forever…"

He fell silent.

Then, slowly, keeled over onto his side.

Starscream was left alone.

* * *

><p>In the palace, as the injured Autobots fought hopelessly against the endless drones, their foes stopped.<p>

And then they all fell down. In total silence.

There was a pause.

"Someone must have flipped a switch," Mirage muttered. "Now let's go help Optimus finish the Decepticons once and for all."

There were no words of agreement. There was no need for them.

They headed back the way they came, faster than they had ever gone before.

* * *

><p>Optimus realised it just as Megatron said it.<p>

"You don't realise it yet, do you Prime?" Megatron uttered. "Good does not triumph over evil; the strongest triumphs over the weakest. And the fact of the matter is this; I am stronger, you are weaker… and that's all it is."

Megatron smashed a fist into Optimus's head, forcing him back. He raised grabbed Optimus's left arm before he could strike with it and pulled with all his might. With a horrible, rendering tear, the arm was torn off as Optimus screamed in pain. He fell back onto the ground, utterly defeated.

Megatron looked down, the light of his smile caught in his shark teeth.

"It is over, Optimus. After all the battles, all the chases, all the deaths… it ends here. Your Autobots are scattered and soon to join you in death. And I should finally do what I started on Earth all those years ago…

"Make sure you stay dead."

Wresting Optimus's keyblade from his severed arm, he pointed it down at his defeated nemesis.

"Now it ends," he uttered with unholy reverence. "Finally…"

He raised the keyblade high for the final blow.

Optimus's optics shut off.

* * *

><p>Six missiles tore Megatron's back apart. He roared with pain and turned.<p>

Starscream's buzzsaw sliced an optic apart and his talons tore the keyblade from Megatron's grasp. With claws and talons, he savaged the Decepticon leader, unloading centuries of anger and frustration into this one battle. He struck and tore with all his might, pushing the now injured Megatron back.

But the Decepticon recovered from the surprise attack and struck back, sending Starscream tumbling. Raising his blaster, Megatron fired desperately from point-blank range.

He hit.

Starscream's right side was blown apart. His arm shattered into a hundred pieces and his torso was utterly wrecked. He was forced upwards in a deadly explosion, screaming as he left Unicron for good.

With the last of his commander's having shown their true colours and been dealt with, Megatron turned to finish Optimus…

Optimus had a keyblade pointed straight at him.

"Goodbye, brother."

With all the strength in his remaining arm, Optimus struck the blade straight through Megatron's face, forcing him onto his back. As the Decepticon leader gurgled in resistance, Optimus raised the blade again and struck straight through Megatron's chest, piercing and gutting his spark.

Megatron looked up in surprise.

"B-But…" the Decepticon muttered with furious resentment, "Y-You can't… kill… me…"

"Third time's the charm," Optimus hissed, and turned the blade.

With a sickening, furious growl, Megatron spat in the Prime's face.

And then fell still.

* * *

><p>No-one moved. No-one spoke.<p>

Optimus finally sat back, exhausted and heavily injured.

_I… I…_

There was a sound of engines.

Optimus turned his head to see Ratchet rushing towards him, the other Autobots in tow.

He sighed.

_We… we did it._

"I-Is…"

"Yes, Arcee. It's over."

As Ratchet tended to Optimus's wounds, the other Autobots gazed around at the detritus.

"Optimus…" Mirage whispered, still unbelieving. "We… won?"

There was silence.

"I… I guess we did…"

Sideswipe laughed as Mirage whooped. Even Arcee smiled as Ratchet continued to impassively work on Optimus's health.

"Now we've just got to reattach your arm," Ratchet continued as Mirage started howling out his victory. "Now where did it go…?"

Ratchet was thrown back by an explosion, just as a huge foot smashed into Arcee's face, sending her flying into junk. Sideswipe turned around, only for one of his legs to be sheared off and smashed into the floor. Mirage managed to raise his blaster, right before he was headbutted into stasis lock.

"I warned you."

Optimus looked at the ground, sighing.

"I told you, right at the start, that it was never about you and Megatron…"

_It was never going to be this easy…_

"I started all of this," Thundercracker uttered. "And so I shall end it. I will kill you Optimus, as I promised I would."

"I can't win, nor fight you," Optimus uttered. "Just… please, Thundercracker, spare them…"

"Spare the Autobots?" Thundercracker asked, bemused. "Much like you spared Sentinel when he begged for mercy? By locking away the corpses of your Decepticon victims, out of sight, out of mind, did you really think we would not haunt you 'til death? You are an ignorant, foolish, murderer."

His claws transforming into axes, the last Decepticon in existence began to stalk towards the doomed Prime.

"A murderer to you maybe," Optimus breathed hard, drawing his final keyblade with his remaining arm. "And I know I cannot win… but if you think we will go quietly into the night, you have another thing coming."

"You will not go quietly," Thundercracker hissed. "You will go screaming, and in great pain."

They faced off.

Then Thundercracker charged, murder on his mind.

* * *

><p>The very first blow shattered the keyblade into pieces. Such was the force and conviction of Thundercracker's will. The next one chopped Optimus's hand off.<p>

Optimus was defenceless and utterly beaten. It hadn't even been a fight. So he backed off, watching Thundercracker close him down.

The Prime had fought the battle of his life, taken down drones in the dozens, fought Megatron for hours, helped beat Soundwave, fought Megatron some more, lost to Megatron, got the break of his life when Starscream interfered, and finally beat Megatron. The battle had destroyed him, so that he could not fight another.

Thundercracker had had a brief skirmish with Arcee, then backed off. He was as fresh as he could be.

It was over.

_It's when you believe you've won, that the true defeat is delivered._

Thundercracker jetted forward and carved upwards, shattering the last of Optimus's armour. Energon flowed freely as the Prime hit the dust.

Optimus looked up, trying to spot the other Autobots.

Ratchet and Mirage had been forced into stasis lock, while Sideswipe lay groaning on the ground. Arcee was desperately crawling towards Optimus, her optics alight with fury from the fact she would never make it in time.

"You still don't understand, do you Optimus?" Thundercracker sighed. "You believe this is the moment when you hit the lowest point, and are barely saved in time. Well, you're wrong; no-one's coming to save you. You will die here, in the dark."

Thundercracker planted a foot on top of Optimus's back, pushing the Prime back down into the rotted metal. The Decepticon drew a blaster from within his arm, pointing it down at Optimus's head.

"Hmm… no; a warrior deserves a warrior's death," Thundercracker allowed, throwing the blaster to the side. "You are a coward who would hide behind guns Optimus, but not I."

He stood to one side, levelling his axe with Optimus's neck, before raising it high.

"I respect how tough you are, Prime," Thundercracker intoned. "And for that reason alone, I will grant you last words. Speak, and be done."

Optimus looked around one last time.

* * *

><p><em>So this is how it ends… my friends… my comrades… soon to follow me into oblivion… they can do nothing.<em>

_All that we've worked for… all that we've fought for… undone by one simple soldier…_

_He undid us all as soon as he took the Matrix…_

_The Matrix…_

_The Matrix of Leadership…_

_Never given, only earned._

_No sacrifice, no victory; the meaning of leadership. To give up, no matter your strength, proves nothing._

_And with nothing left to give, we've got everything to prove._

_WE WILL NOT BE BEATEN HERE!_

* * *

><p>"Thundercracker…"<p>

The axe hesitated.

"I probably deserve death," Optimus muttered…

"BUT IT WILL NOT BE DELIVERED BY YOU!"

Optimus launched upwards, smashing the stunned Thundercracker away. Optimus rolled over to where Thundercracker had thrown his blaster and smashed the stump of his arm onto the handle. His arm wrapped around grip of the gun, his biology mixing metal unto metal, until his new hand was one of destruction.

Thundercracker whirled about, livid.

"No…"

One blast flew by Thundercracker's head as Optimus got his bearings. The second blew one of the Decepticon's axes into oblivion, another tearing apart his left knee. As Thundercracker fell to his knees, another blast blew his hand apart in sweet retribution.

The tables had turned in less than five seconds.

Thundercracker looked up to find the blaster in his face.

"Sentinel was a threat to the whole galaxy," Optimus uttered. "So are you."

"NOOOOOOOO—!"

With the last shot, Optimus blew Thundercracker's head apart.

And with that act, the Decepticons were finished.

* * *

><p>…<em>Wake up…<em>

…_We've won…_

Mirage's optics finally turned on. He saw Ratchet looking down, a rare smile appearing.

"Optimus," Ratchet announced. "We've all made it."

Mirage sat up to see the other Autobots standing and facing towards the Earth. He and Ratchet went up to them, joining them in silent contemplation of the beautiful pearl that lay in the deep blackness.

"So what happens now?" Arcee asked.

There was another moment of silence as Optimus weighed the consequences of every action he could take.

"I believe…" Optimus muttered. "I believe we must leave."

Sideswipe looked up, surprised. "We're abandoning… our home?"

"It was never our home to begin with. All we brought to this world was war, death and tyranny. The last of us… we must search the galaxy for a new place to call home. We doomed Cybertron… we will not remain here to doom Earth as well."

"But… our friends," Mirage argued. "They may not even be alive! We need to check…"

Optimus turned to look at him, sad. "I believe the answer to your question may not be the one you seek."

Mirage hesitated, before nodding.

"So we'll survive," Arcee said, firmly. "We'll spread to the stars and our race will survive through us."

Ratchet nodded. "In the end, despite all we've lost… Blazemaster… Silverbolt… Bumblebee… we'll remember them as we search. We will remember their sacrifice."

Optimus looked to the Earth, a smile on his lips.

_One may lose faith in another. One may fight his neighbour and bring him down. One's actions may doom an entire race. But we have stood sentinel over this world and helped its race survive certain destruction many times… as they have saved ours. We owe our lives to each other… and so it is now that we must leave. It is now that we pay our final dues and leave the humans to work out their future by themselves. I pray that they do not end up like us._

_But we will survive._

_We will prosper._

They stood atop a defeated enemy, pride filling their sparks.

Ratchet paused.

"But what happened to—?"

* * *

><p>A huge plasma bolt smashed through his chest, utterly obliterating Ratchet's spark and killing him instantly.<p>

Optimus turned, only to have a huge, dark blade skewer him through the throat and head. He gurgled once, lifted into the air, before falling still.

Screaming with rage, Arcee charged. Raising her serrated blade high in the air, she leapt at the attacker.

He caught her and crushed her in his grip.

Sideswipe couldn't even move in time. Another plasma bolt splattered him all over the detritus.

Mirage fell to his knees.

"B-But… w-why…?"

He received no answer. The blade was withdrawn from Optimus and it decapitated Mirage in a single blow.

The Autobots were left strewn around, their lives gone.

"The Transformers are all dead."

Shockwave crushed Optimus's head as he paced across Unicron's corpse. He stared up at the Earth.

"The humans will survive," he admitted, agreeing with Optimus's epitaph.

He cocked his AstroMag cannon, its energy recharging.

"But not all of them."


	46. We Are The Dead

42

_All that you touch  
>And all that you see<br>All that you taste  
>All you feel<br>And all that you love  
>And all that you hate<br>All you distrust  
>All you save<br>And all that you give  
>And all that you deal<br>And all that you buy  
>Beg, borrow or steal<br>And all you create  
>And all you destroy<br>And all that you do  
>And all that you say<br>And all that you eat  
>And everyone you meet<br>And all that you smite  
>And everyone you fight<br>And all that is now  
>And all that is gone<br>And all that's to come…  
>And everything under the sun is in tune<br>But the sun is eclipsed by the moon_

* * *

><p>"You could have told me to move to another street…"<p>

"_If I had guided you to another street, more people would have died. Here, Stacy is saved…"_

Marcus looked to the grey building, where Stacy had been distracted by a cat. He breathed deep, fear running through his veins.

"…I could have run… I can still run…"

"_We will still die. But more would suffer. Out of… pity, for you and for your race, I have allowed the minimum amount of people to die."_

"Minimum? How many is the 'minimum'?"

"_Seven thousand, four hundred and thirteen. Stacy will not be among them."_

"…Jesus."

Marcus stared around the grey street. His felt his eyes water.

"_If it's any consolation, it's out of your hands."_

"How is that a consolation?"

"_You can now accept we are the dead. There is no need to worry, nor fear no more."_

Marcus gulped. A tear trickled down his cheek.

"…How will it happen?"

_Malevolus looked at him, his huge white opals tinged with sadness._

"_Up."_

Marcus looked up, as a shadow was cast over him.

Shockwave descended from the heavens, like Lucifer himself.

* * *

><p>He hit the ground like an atom bomb. Five meters away from Marcus.<p>

The shockwave snapped four of Marcus's ribs, shattered his shins and threw him across the street and through the glassless window of a ruined bar. His back broke as he hit the dusty wall, falling to the ground behind the bar. He spat out blood and fell unconscious.

Shockwave calculated the injuries he had caused the boy, calculated the time before death, calculated the chances of rescue and healing, before finally calculating the impact of the local population could have on the boy's health.

There was only one small girl in sight; scared and running to the boy. Shockwave saw she posed no threat or impact, and turned to face the horizon.

He fired a shot over the rooftops. A beautiful plume of fire appeared in the distance.

There was no need to move.

They would scurry, moths to a flame. And they would fight.

It would be the final fight.

The last battle.

* * *

><p>"SIR!" a corporal almost screamed with fright. "IT'S SHOCKWAVE!"<p>

General Mason looked up, horror written on his face. He gulped.

"Get everyone…"

"Sir—?"

"GET EVERYONE CORPORAL!" Mason roared. "I WANT EVERYTHING FROM THE WOUNDED TO THE ATTACK HELICOPTERS KILLING THAT SONUVABITCH!"

"E-Even the wounded, sir—?"

"IF THEY DON'T FIGHT, THEY'RE DEAD!" Mason cried as he pushed past the corporal into the armed camp. "UNLESS WE PUT EVERYTHING INTO THIS, HE'LL KILL US ALL!"

Tanks began to pool into the city.

Gunships and jets flew overhead.

General Mason's 1st Liberation Division consisted of nine thousand, four hundred and seventeen men, three hundred and twelve tanks, fifty-seven armed fighters, twenty-four gunships and a hundred other armed vehicles plunged into Washington D.C.

Mason feared they would not be enough.

* * *

><p>"MARCUS!" Stacy screamed as she ran into the bar, tears in her eyes, frantically searching for him. She found him behind the bar, where he had fallen.<p>

She dropped to her knees and touched him gingerly, gulping.

"M-Marcus…?

"Marcus? Marcus… w-wake up…

"MARCUS!"

* * *

><p><em>Shot number two:<em>

_Twenty-seven soldiers immediately killed, fourteen will die of wounds in lieu of immediate and expert medical attention. Two tanks destroyed, one immobilised. Twelve wounded, severe. Forty-one wounded, with high probability of surviving. Street blocked by rubble._

He swung the AstroMag cannon around.

_Shot number three:_

_Forty soldiers immediately killed, three will die of wounds in lieu of immediate and expert medical attention. One tank destroyed, one infantry fighting vehicle destroyed, four tanks immobilised. Fifteen wounded, severe. Seven wounded, with high probability of surviving._

A tank shell smashed into his left shoulder, tearing pieces of armour off. He swung the cannon around.

_Shot number four:_

_Fifty-five immediately killed (seventeen from indirect means). One tank destroyed, four immobilised, one more sustaining heavy damaged to the barrel. One wounded, with high probability of surviving._

Shockwave kept on going.

Shockwave kept on firing.

Shockwave kept on killing.

Shockwave did not like it. Shockwave did not dislike it. Shockwave was not happy. Shockwave was not sad.

Shockwave did not feel like he belonged here. Shockwave had never belonged, anywhere.

But the killing… made sense.

As a master of logic, Shockwave followed order. And through death, order was realised; without death, there can be no life.

He was simply hurrying the natural, logical order along.

And it satisfied him.

* * *

><p>But even Shockwave, the most powerful creature in the known universe, who could kill even a living planet, was not immortal.<p>

And ants, no matter how small, could still bite.

The tanks, before being destroyed, could still fire.

Miles away, artillery honed in on their target.

The jets were quick. Not quick enough to survive, but quick enough to leave their mark.

Shockwave did not move. He did not register the pain.

But everything, from the largest missile, to the tiniest bullet, affected him. It didn't matter how much… but it did.

His armour began to crumble away. His cannon took longer to fire with every shot. His energy began to run low.

But with every shot, he killed people.

And people kept on coming.

* * *

><p>…<em>Marcus…<em>

…_Wake up…_

_Malevolus stared into the abyss. He saw everything there ever was, ever is and ever will be. It turned him mad, for through sentience, he achieved a view that could not be equalled. It is only with understanding, can one go mad._

_But Malevolus never wished for the millenias where he had been the Allspark. Being something that cannot accumulate, cannot understand, cannot comprehend… it now seemed alien to him. At least, powerless though he may be, he felt… feelings._

_He laughed at the abyss, for he was too tired to cry._

"_This land," he reflected. "Is nobody's land…"_

"_What do you mean by that?" Marcus asked, standing beside him._

_The dark little creature with the pupil-less eyes looked up from the abyss._

"_Out there, the creature that has killed you, is killing others for a reason so… stupid," Malevolus hissed._

_He sighed._

"_No…" he muttered. "No, it's not stupid. After all, he will die on his own terms… and I must die on yours."_

"_Well… I'm sorry."_

"_Truthfully, you were always destined for this path," Malevolus uttered, pointing into the abyss. "But… but I saw the futures, the trillions upon trillions of different futures… ones where I lived happily, where I survived for so much longer… and I was just desperate…"_

"_Fate?" Marcus asked, a smile on his lips. "I never thought the source of all knowledge would acknowledge something like fate existing. I doubt you see the trillions of different timelines down in that darkness… I think you see dreams."_

"_Dreams?"_

"_Everyone dreams. And they dream of what might have been. Whether it involves them or not, it doesn't matter. It's a different world, a different universe… a different time. If you saw visions of a future you could not achieve, then that's simply a dream."_

"_Then what's all this 'follow your dreams' bullshit I hear humans speaking about?"_

_Marcus laughed. "That's got nothing to do with dreams. That's _daydreams_, people thinking about a future that _could _happen. Dreams are too wild, too fanciful to follow or achieve."_

"_So what happens to them?"_

"_I… well, I don't know! I guess people write them down and call them stories. I read a lot, and my dreams were always vivid with the craziest things..."_

"_I know. I saw."_

_Marcus gave a sad little smile._

"_So… I'm dead."_

"_Of course not, you halfwit!" Malevolus cackled. "I doubt the afterlife would be this dull. No… we're not gone yet. In fact, if you take the time to wake up, you can engage with the life of the living for a few seconds…"_

"_You mean… I can say goodbye to Stacy?"_

"_If you try hard enough."_

_And so Marcus closed his eyes…_

…And opened them.

* * *

><p>Stacy looked down, as Marcus opened his eyes and smiled.<p>

"I-Is…" he muttered painfully, a cracked smile on his blood-wet lips, "Is it… bad?"

Stacy smiled too, tears streaming down her face.

"M-Marcus…"

"D-Don't… don't worry…" he whispered. "I know… I know I'm a goner. Jus… just, don't cry, Stacy…"

"I'm sorry, Marcus," she cried, as an explosion rocked the bar. Dust fell from the ceiling, as Marcus's vision turned red.

Marcus felt a shearing pain in his back, a pain that beat the one in his chest. Despite the pain, he continued to smile.

"It's… it's… alright. Y-You can cry… you can cry if you want to. But… but cry for my pain… not my death. Sorry, Stacy… I'm sorry… but at least… in death… there's no pain. Maybe… maybe… maybe it's good to mourn… for they are released from pain… and in death… the story ends. It's good to cry… at the end of life's story… at the end of life's river… because then you can wake up… and continue your own."

His eyes drifted upwards, his life fading.

"Mother… mum… G—"

Another explosion racked dust from the ceiling. Stacy covered her eyes, rimmed red, and looked back.

Marcus had closed his.

* * *

><p><em>Malevolus was disappearing. His black body was flaking away. The landscape around them disappeared into darkness. Marcus gulped.<em>

"_I… I'm scared."_

"_Of course you are," Malevolus whispered, as he began to fade. "Of course we are. We do not know what lies on the other side…"_

"_Will it be a heaven?" Marcus asked hurriedly. "Will it be a hell? Will it be inbetween?"_

_Malevolus sighed. "I don't know."_

_Malevolus's body was gone. Only his head was left, fast fading away._

"_Malevolus?" Marcus asked as everything went bright._

"…_Yes?"_

"_I hope I see you on the other side."_

_Malevolus's eyes disappeared. Marcus's heart skipped its final beat._

_But then his grin appeared in the air, a million razor sharp teeth, inviting nothing but cruelty._

"_I hope so too," he chuckled._

_Then he was gone._

_Marcus smiled._

…

And then he was gone as well.

* * *

><p><em>Four thousand, five hundred and seventy-three.<em>

Shockwave dropped to one knee.

_Six thousand and nine._

Shockwave dropped to both knees.

_Six thousand, four hundred and ninety-eight._

A tank shell pierced his optic and blew it to smithereens. On fire, with smoke pouring from his black armour, Shockwave fell. Lying on his side, blind and tired, he managed to prop himself up onto his cannon. He felt his other arm fall off, smashing down onto the ruined street.

Stacy walked out the bar. She looked up at the fallen giant.

She remained silent. Shockwave did not move, did not utter a word.

"What was it all for?" she whispered.

There was no reply.

"JUST ANSWER ME!" she shrieked with grief, falling to her knees and wrapping her head in her arms. The tears rolled faster than ever before, the wasted water pooling through the cracks of her fingers.

"Why ask?" Shockwave intoned.

The tears stopped. So did the sobs.

Slowly, she withdrew her arms. She looked at the Transformer.

"You killed him," she whispered. "He had done nothing wrong. He was just a kid… and you murdered him…"

She stayed silent, waiting for him to reply.

So he did.

"Seven thousand, four hundred and thirteen."

"…H-Huh?"

"Seven thousand, four hundred and thirteen is a number. Marcus Twist is a boy you knew and loved. One is a statistic, one is a human. I know these things, as should you. Soundwave dealt with information he shared. I dealt with information I didn't share. I know the names of all seven thousand, four hundred and thirteen people I have killed in the past thirty-three minutes and their entire life history. Do you?"

Stacy looked at him, mouth agape.

"You remember the heroes, not the masses. Even when it's the masses that matter. They mattered to me, for the larger the number, the more satisfied I was. But for everyone else, it's always about the ones they know. That is why I have won."

"B-But you're—"

"Dying. I know. I chose to die. You think I could not have wiped out everyone here? It would have taken many, many more to kill me. But I chose to die, doing what I like to do. How many of your heroes have ever done that?

"I have won, Stacy Moore, because I decided where and when I would die, and deciding who would go along with me. I feel satisfied… wherever I may go now, I go there by my own terms. Will you do the same?"

"D-Don't you care?" Stacy asked, dazed and confused. "Don't you care about anything?"

Shockwave was still as a statue.

"No."

The cannon gave way. Shockwave hit the devastated street.

Without another word, he died.

Everyone was silent.

The forgotten soldiers could not be heard.

The remaining jets screamed silently overhead.

Stacy wailed, shaking uncontrollably, with no tears left to give.

In a devastated street, in a devastated city, Stacy wailed at everyone and everything that had taken all she had known… and all she had loved.

The Transformers… were all dead.

* * *

><p>…<p>

…

…

(That's a lie.)

* * *

><p>…<p>

It was cold.

"_And all who heard should see them there…"_

He heard a voice. It was an unkind, but not cruel, voice.

"_And all should cry; 'Beware! Beware!'…"_

An optic flickered on. Then the other.

His consciousness returned.

Making not a sound, Starscream sat up.

He looked around, in a daze.

He was in the hull of a dead ship. A dark, dark place. It wasn't moving. Neither was he.

And yet a voice carried through the ship…

"His flashing eyes! His floating hair!"

Starscream stood up. He checked himself. His entire right side had been fixed, albeit crudely, with his arm entirely replaced by another cybertronian's. He wondered at his survival.

Peering into the darkness, he hunted the voice.

* * *

><p>He stepped outside into the night.<p>

There was a fire. A bonfire. The flames glowed green.

A hunched, darkened figure leaned over it.

"Weave a circle round him thrice…"

Starscream approached, trepidation in his step. He had a feeling he was in the company of someone very dangerous.

"And close your eyes with holy dread—"

Starscream readied himself, expecting anything… but especially a fight.

"—For he on honeydew hath fed—"

With menacing stature, Astrotrain turned his head from the fire and grinned at Starscream.

"…And drunk the milk of Paradise," he finished, triumphantly.

They looked at each other in silence.

"Well?" Astrotrain asked, the grin still there. "You're not going to thank me?"

"For what?" Starscream whispered, his hand instinctively forming into a fist.

"For patching you up," Astrotrain chuckled, turning back to the green flames. "You know, if you hadn't floated so close by, you would have died. You're lucky I'm one for charity."

Starscream stood in silence, wondering what to do. He looked around.

Behind him, from whence he came, stood the ruins of a ship. He recognised it as part of the _Caliginous_'s hull, Soundwave's flagship. But all around him, a red desert stretched ever onwards.

"This is Mars," he realised.

"You've come to recognise it," Astrotrain continued to chuckle. "That's the only bit of ship not pulled in by Earth's gravity. You're lucky I'm one for charity. And you're lucky this piece of ship fell here."

"Where…" Starscream muttered. "Where is everyone?"

Astrotrain turned again, his teeth flashing green.

"They're dead."

"…What?"

"Everyone's dead, Starscream. Everyone. Is. Dead."

Starscream stood rooted to the spot in shock. He felt all the centuries he had lived disappear into a dark, dark hole.

"You know, it's cold," Astrotrain uttered. "You'd do well to stay warm."

Starscream hesitated a second, before joining Astrotrain by the fire. Whatever chemicals Shockwave's lieutenant had poured in had made sure the fire didn't need oxygen.

"You know, when I found you," Astrotrain muttered. "You're injury almost meant certain death. You're lucky that you survived so long. You're lucky I'm one for charity. You're lucky this piece of ship fell here."

"What are you getting at?" Starscream asked, not in a mood for games.

"I'm trying to explain a simple concept to you, Starscream," Astrotrain said with a malicious grin. "And that concept is this; we are perfect examples of perfect creatures."

"Of course."

"Hear me out; we have won."

"You call this a victory?"

"Yes."

"You're mad."

"Oh no," Astrotrain chuckled. "Insanity's overrated. I'm perfectly sane. We have won here… by surviving. Don't you see, Starscream? We. Made. It. We survived it all. Each one of us, representing the most powerful things in the universe: I survived through my decisions… and you survived through something else entirely."

Starscream frowned. "What?"

Astrotrain grabbed a cylinder of strange metal by the bonfire and threw it into the hungry flames. They rose higher.

"Luck."

"Luck?"

"If decisions and luck mix, it never ends well. Through your luck only, whether it be a hallucination trapped under ice, or Optimus stupidly sparing you… you survived through luck alone. I survived through my choices, and the fact that I realised the ultimate truth."

"The ultimate truth?" Starscream echoed dryly.

"The truth to end all truths. It's what allowed me to survive."

"And what is Lieutenant Astrotrain's truth?"

Astrotrain grinned. "Cybertronians never existed."

Starscream frowned harder. "Unless you're about to spin a bullshit yarn about existentialism, that's quite impossible."

"Oh no. For I realised it a long time ago. I looked around and saw no Cybertronians. I saw no Autobots. I saw no Decepticons. When I came to Earth, I saw no humans. I saw no Americans, or HARP, or NEST, or whatever. I only ever saw two things."

"Pray tell."

"Those among the dead… and those among the living. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Those are the only two types of beings in existence. There is nothing else. And you and I, Starscream? We're the last of the 'Transformers'. Through luck and intellect, we survived. And through survival, we have achieved victory."

Starscream rounded on him. "You call this a victory?" he roared. "Look around you! There's nothing! We have achieved nothing! We have gained nothing AND LOST EVERYTHING!"

"Wrong again," Astrotrain replied, cool as ever. He pointed upwards.

Starscream looked up.

In the night sky, thousands upon thousands of stars were visible. Each one a sun. Each one capable of breathing live-giving light and warmth.

"If there are two races we know of in this universe, there must be many more," Astrotrain whispered in reverence. "People we've never seen, never heard of, never imagined in our wildest dreams. Out there, there lies a trillion by a trillion stories to be told. Stories to watch unfold, or participate in. This is our reward, Starscream, for surviving; freedom."

Starscream stared up at those stars. He felt he was in a dream.

"But what of our race?" he whispered desperately.

"What of it?" Astrotrain dismissed. "Our race was a bunch of fools who led themselves to destruction. If you want to bring that back, go out there and find a way to restore them to life. It'll just lead to another extinction… one that you might not survive."

"But I would lead them!" Starscream cried. "I would show them the right way!"

Astrotrain laughed and patted Starscream on the shoulder. "You keep telling yourself that, commander. Who knows, maybe luck will see you through."

Astrotrain looked up again, a smile of pure joy on his face.

"There's a whole universe out there," he whispered. "Who knows? Maybe I'll stay with the 'humans' for a while and see what stories they have left to tell. They will learn from this no doubt, and learn to not go down this road we led ourselves. But the universe is a big place…"

He looked at Starscream, his smile broader than ever.

"I'm gonna go and explore!"

And with that, Astrotrain transformed and shot into the sky, a whole new adventure in his wake.

Starscream was left alone with his decisions, staring at the fire.

It began to dim.

* * *

><p>It was dead.<p>

Every. Single. Inch.

Dead.

_It was worth a try…_

_No. I wasn't even trying. What was I doing?_

Sixshot paced past corpses of people he had known, people he hadn't cared about, people who had been passing by.

As he walked, he unsheathed his revolvers and dropped them.

He walked out of the dark tower and onto Unicron's dismal surface.

His optics registered something living, yet unbreathing.

He sighed.

On top of a pile of cybertronian corpses, Ryder stood tall, ELLIPSIS pointed at Sixshot.

"I bet this isn't how you wanted things to turn out," Ryder uttered.

_Five seconds left…_

He withdrew the mask from his coat and took a breath of stale air.

"Want?" Sixshot echoed, far away, as if in a trance. "It has been a long time since I ever wanted anything…"

"So why'd you do it?" Ryder asked, his accusing eyes hidden behind emotionless shades. "Why'd you kill the Camaro?"

Sixshot shrugged and sat down.

Ryder frowned.

"What does that mean?" he asked. "What do you mean by that?"

Sixshot was silent.

Then he spoke.

"You were never one to ask questions. You just stood around and acted superior, to catch an eye. It was all for show. Your coat of mysteries, your nonchalance, your dumb eyewear… it was all for the attention. By showing your disinterest, you showed your needs."

"Empty words from a dead bot."

"I ain't dead yet," Sixshot uttered. "Now look here; why are you here?"

"To put you away for good," Ryder said, taking another puff of oxygen. "You're the last enemy to be destroyed. It's to clear house."

"At the cost of your own life?"

Ryder shrugged.

Sixshot gave a low chuckle. "You've done nothing but sue for attention… and yet you die, forgotten?"

"I'm a hard man to forget."

"You're still a child. And those who would remember you are dead. You know it. Your hunt for me was all for show… for an audience that never existed. Your hunt was just to inflate an already gigantic ego."

"You're no different."

"I am different. But I was just like you, once. I cared about the respect and views of those around me, by making sure I never seemed like I did. But I saw… I saw the fires and I never looked back. You're too young to see them, but too old to cry. How pointless; what a waste of life."

"You've ducked my question. Why kill Bumblebee?"

"He was just another soldier. To you, maybe another 'friend'. To me, just another body in the way."

Another puff. Ryder lowered ELLIPSIS.

"You're not going to kill me?" Sixshot asked, surprised.

"I don't need to, do I?"

Sixshot chuckled again. "You know me too well. Mainly 'cause you are me."

"You wish."

"I don't… I really don't…"

They were silent.

Another puff.

"So what was the point? The point of it all?" Ryder asked.

"There… there was none. It was just…. It was just a breaking point. A point of growing out of one skin and into another. It was a purgatory, to make way for whatever heaven or hell I'm in for."

Sixshot drew the rust cannon off his back.

"Time to die," Sixshot whispered.

He aimed.

And fired.

* * *

><p>He now sat, the colour of copper. His entire metabolism was devastated and destroyed, his organs reduced to flakes of brown, rotted metal, his spark dying as the seconds passed…<p>

Ryder took off his glasses and looked at him clearly.

He looked around and echoed a younger child;

"What do you see?"

"Bodies… everywhere."

Ryder threw the glasses.

Travelling at the same speed through the zero gravity, they hit Sixshot in the chest.

His body dissolved. His entire body of rust turned into a cloud that simply expanded.

Sixshot died by his own hand.

Ryder still remained.

He took a puff, a puff at half strength. He checked the oxygen tank under his coat.

It was empty.

He let it go into emptiness.

He waited.

There was not a sound. There was not a curtain call. There was not a cheer from any audience.

He waited for the end.


	47. Epilogue

_Here it comes; another lonely day  
>Playing the game<br>I'll sail away… on a voyage of no return  
>To see… if eternal life is meant to be<br>And if I find the key… to the eternal dream…_

* * *

><p>Two girls stood on his arm.<p>

He was long dead.

They played in the sun, atop the arm of a long forgotten giant.

A tune jingled from a radio they had brought. It set the soundtrack for the great games of make-believe, as they stood in daydream and fought between metal gods, huge and terrifying.

The jingle ended. A voice sounded out;

"_Today, the last constitution __of AHAT __was __signed__ between our glorious President Muzaffar Kassis and American President Ronald Worthing; this constitution will unite all the countries of the Middle East and those of the western world in a singular alliance. This is just one of the many treaties being __signed__following the events of the cybertronian takeover__just four months ago…_"

But the girls were not listening.

They played in the sun, laughing.

* * *

><p><em>The painted ladies of the Avalon… play in the sun<br>Take to the road… to the north there lies the chills of cold…  
>To the south there lies the tales untold…<br>But in between there lies…  
>The place to close your eyes…<em>

* * *

><p>The sun began to set, as the two girls headed home.<p>

The night descended, the stars shining off the metal.

Trucks came. Men got out.

The trucks left.

The men sat down and waited.

The moon shone down, it's metallic surface luminous across the middle east.

The men looked up at it and remembered.

They remembered it all.

* * *

><p><em>Say goodbye, the city's heroes sing...<br>Bird on the wing…  
>Feel, feel so free… through the life upon the rooftop haze…<br>All the cheating and the broken days…  
>So through it all I see…<br>There's nothing left for me…_

* * *

><p>In the morning, the trucks came back, with a larger truck in tow.<p>

The men helped load the huge arm onto the huge truck, tugging a tarpaulin over it.

The men got in the trucks and left.

When the two girls returned with their radio, there was nothing left for them.

Just the soft sand of the desert.

They left.

In future, they completely forgot about it.

The Transformers were gone for good.

And remained only in memory.

* * *

><p><em>Sitting here on top of everywhere…<br>What do I care  
>Days never end… I know the voyages end will soon be here…<br>No eternal life is here for me  
>And now I found the key…<br>To the eternal dream…_

* * *

><p>The mountains fell through time. The towns and villages fell through time as well. Cities crumbled, cities rose. People lived. People died. Life was life, as it was and always would be.<p>

Eventually, though, all was dust… one way or another.

One day, Earth lost its life as well.

It's metal moon no longer orbited.

And beyond the stars, a figure who had made the best decisions… laughed at it all.

In the distance, a coyote yipped.


End file.
